


Glass Roses

by jardinsdeminuit



Series: Stepping on Thorns [2]
Category: Heart no Kuni no Alice | Alice in the Country of Hearts
Genre: Action, Established Relationship, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Lemon, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jardinsdeminuit/pseuds/jardinsdeminuit
Summary: Alice has decided to live with Blood at the Hatter Mansion. But things are not as rosy as they seem, as Ace leads her to a horrifying discovery in the forest. With a murderer loose in Wonderland, Alice has to decide who she can trust, and whether her relationship is worth saving.Meanwhile, the ball at Heart Castle is approaching...(Sequel to Midnight Invitation, but can be read on its own. Lemon warning throughout.)
Relationships: Blood Dupre/Alice Liddell
Series: Stepping on Thorns [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744558
Comments: 24
Kudos: 16





	1. Rock

The dawn sun streamed in through the window, casting its warmth across Alice's face. She raised a hand to shield her eyes and rolled onto her side.

Blood lay with his back to her. His wild black hair fell to the mattress, and his bare shoulders rose and fell with each breath he took. Alice always felt a little sad when she woke up on the other side of the bed; it meant that sometime in the night, she'd slipped from his arms.

She looked at the clock mounted on the wall near the door. Six twenty. She and Blood had a few hours left until their usual wakeup time. Unlike the Hatter, who could probably sleep through a battle, Alice often found herself waking up in the middle of the night. The erratic day and night cycles no longer wreaked havoc with her sleeping patterns, but it was still difficult sometimes falling asleep in broad daylight and waking up to the moon.

Luckily, most nights Blood wore her out so hard that getting to sleep afterwards wasn't a problem.

She reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder. “Are you awake?”

There was a pause before a voice grunted back, “No.”

Alice chuckled to herself. On top of being a deep sleeper, Blood was _not_ a morning person.

She was just about to pull herself over to him when she heard a nearby _clink_ , like something hard hitting glass. Frowning, she looked at the window, but there was nothing there.

 _Must have been an insect,_ she thought. But then it sounded again.

Curious now, Alice slipped from the bed and walked over to the window. When she looked down, a familiar figure met her eyes.

Ace stood in the garden two floors below, wearing his usual long red coat. In his hand he held a small rock from the path, ready to throw against the window. His eyes lit up as he saw her.

Alice gestured to the right with her finger, then pulled away from the window and raced towards the door. Blood was still asleep as she passed, a slight frown on his face. She doubted he'd notice her gone for a minute or two.

Out in the corridor, Alice found the third door along and opened it. The room was a guest bedroom, as long as Blood's but considerably narrower, and furnished far less luxuriously. She rushed to the window at the end, flipped the latch and pushed it open.

“Alice!” Ace shouted up, smiling broadly.

Alice waved one arm wildly and put a finger over her mouth. “Be quiet! What are you doing here?”

“Visiting you,” said Ace, dropping his volume by just a fraction. “It's been too long.”

With a glance over her shoulder, Alice said, “You're lucky it was me who came to the window and not Blood.”

Even with the distance between them, it was hard not to notice the momentary drop in Ace's expression. Alice suddenly become aware of the fact she was wearing her low-cut translucent nightgown. Although the fact she was in a relationship with the Mafia Boss was hardly a secret anymore, she felt guilty at rubbing their sleeping arrangements in the Knight's face.

“No worries.” The cheer returned to Ace's face. “I'd be over that fence again before he reached the bottom of the stairs.”

 _You're forgetting that everyone here except you carries a gun,_ thought Alice, taking in the sword at his hip.

“Besides, I wanted to see you.”

“But I'm always out. I visited the Clock Tower twice this week,” she said.

“Not when I was there, you didn't. This was the only place I knew I could find you.” Ace shifted a little, his eyes flicking to Blood's window and back. “Join me in the forest at midday, if you want. I've got something to show you.”

Alice considered for a moment, then nodded. “Sure. I'll meet you outside the gates.”

“Great!” Ace took a few steps back before turning and sprinting towards the back wall. Alice didn't wait to see how he made it over.

 _Something to show you..._ Knowing Ace, it was probably a shiny rock or strange-looking tree. Not that she minded. It had been so long since she'd last seen him, any excuse to meet up was a good one.

She smiled and curled a lock of hair around her finger. While she didn't approve of him risking his life, she supposed it was quite touching that Ace had come all this way just to see her.

“Where did you go?” mumbled Blood as she slipped back into bed. He was lying on his back now, his forearm shading his eyes from the sun.

“Bathroom,” she said. Of course she trusted the Hatter, but now didn't seem like the right time to tell him the Knight of Hearts had broken onto his property.

Pulling back the sheets, Alice crawled over to Blood and mounted him, knees bent either side of his waist. He grunted, clearly not expecting the sudden weight on top of him.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispered, but his body contradicted the order. His hands found her hips and squeezed her through the nightdress.

She rolled her hips against him. Blood's lips parted enough to let out a sigh, his eyes half-open and watching her. She was teasing herself as much as him. In this just-waking state, Blood was utterly at her mercy. Nobody else in the world saw this side of him, the side that yielded to her completely in both body and heart, and it made her mad with desire.

Tracing his lips with a finger, Alice said, “Do you want me to sleep?” She could feel him grow hard against her leg.

“No,” he breathed.

A smirk lifted Alice's lips. “I thought not."

*

Alice was surprised to find Ace waiting for her outside the gates at exactly the time they'd specified.

The Knight was leaning against a tree, examining something in his hand, when she approached. He looked up and grinned. “What's wrong? You look shocked.”

“You didn't get lost,” said Alice.

“I'm getting better,” said Ace proudly. Then he added, a little sheepishly, “Plus, I left some extra time to get back here.”

Alice gestured at the object in his hand. “Is that what you wanted to show me?”

“This?” The Knight chucked the object, a small yellow mushroom, into the forest. “Just distracting myself. They say these things are poisonous.”

 _And yet you picked it up,_ thought Alice exasperatedly.

Wiping his hands on his coat, Ace nodded towards the trees. “Come on. I'll take you to what I've found.”

Alice followed him into the forest, the thin path forcing them to walk in single file. Shortly after she'd gotten up, it had switched to night for an hour, but now the world basked in daylight once again. She looked up at the canopy as she walked, the leaves impossibly green against the blue sky, and breathed in the fresh earthy scent. In the distance, birds chirped their songs.

“So, how long have you been living in the Hatter Mansion now?” asked Ace. “It must be coming up for two weeks.”

“Almost three, actually.”

“Three weeks.” Ace whistled loudly. “I must admit I never saw that one coming.”

“How so?” said Alice, hopping over a bunch of brambles that cut across the path.

“Well, I always assumed you'd go for someone less... sadistic.” Ace glanced at her over his shoulder. “He doesn't seem your type.”

“Blood has lots of sides to him. We make each other happy.” It felt strange to be defending Blood when just a few weeks ago, she would have agreed with Ace outright. While it was true he had a temper, it was the kindness hidden beneath that drew her to him. Not to mention the danger of dating a Mafia boss excited her, though she didn't say that out loud.

“If you say so,” said Ace with a chuckle. He stopped suddenly, forcing Alice to do the same.

“What's wrong?” she asked.

Ace scratched his head. “This doesn't look familiar. I think we're going the wrong way.” He spun around in a full circle. “Wait... No, this is right.”

He set off again at full speed.

Alice rolled her eyes. Ace had the directional sense of a broken compass, but she supposed it was one of the aspects that made him so endearing.

Over the next twenty minutes, they had to change direction three more times until Ace finally pointed up ahead. “There it is!”

They came out into a small clearing. For a moment, Alice couldn't work out what it was that had caught Ace's attention.

“What am I supposed to—”

Her sentence was cut short as her foot crunched against something. Looking down, she realised she'd stepped on a clock. Its face was smashed open, the hands frozen in position.

Alice's breath hitched in her throat. This wasn't just a clock: it had been been someone's heart once.

“Relax,” said Ace, clearly sensing her panic. “It was broken before.”

The relief Alice felt at knowing she hadn't smashed the clock was only temporary, as at that moment she raised her head and saw a second one lying a short distance away. Blood was spattered across its face.

“Are they both like this?” Alice asked.

“Broken beyond repair? Yes.” Ace's tone suddenly grew serious. He picked up the bloody clock and shook it, showering fragments of broken parts across the ground. “There are another two in the trees. And look.”

He crossed the clearing, pulling something small and dark from a bush and threw it to her. Alice caught it in her hands. It was a black bow tie with red and white trim, part of the uniform the faceless servants at Heart Castle wore.

Nausea rose within her. When someone died in this world, their clocks were the only things left behind. Most of the time, Julius could fix them, but once they were destroyed beyond a certain point, there was no hope of restoration. The servants these clocks had belonged to were well and truly gone.

“Who could have done this?” she mumbled.

“Beats me,” said Ace with a shrug. He crouched down beside the bloody clock, picked up one of the pieces of metal and held it up to the sunlight to examine it. “They left their calling card, though.”

He offered his hand to Alice, who walked over. In his palm sat a bullet no bigger than her fingernail.

“Do you know who it belongs to?” she asked. It was a pointless question: just about everyone in this world owned a gun or five.

Ace shook his head. “But I can find out.” He slipped the bullet into the pocket of his coat. Then he produced a burlap sack and picked up the clock at his feet. “Julius will still want to keep these. Who knows? Maybe he'll find a way to fix them after all.”

Alice stared at the jagged shards of metal at his feet and thought, _Not likely._ She'd seen the Clockmaker work enough times to know that the individual pieces still had to be intact if new life were to be breathed into it.

She looked up to see Ace glance at her from across the clearing, a question in his eyes. It took her a moment to realise what he was implying.

“No,” she said, a little more forcefully than she'd meant to. “Blood didn't do this.”

“I'm not saying he did for certain. But we _are_ near the mansion, and the Mafia's feud with the castle has always been the most violent.”

But Alice just shook her head. “They have a peace treaty. Blood has no reason to break it.” The fact Ace would even suggest such a thing was enough to make her annoyed.

“Sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have said anything.” Ace gave her an apologetic smile. “Just trying to cover all bases, you know? Because at the moment, it seems we have a murderer walking around.”

“Or someone trying to frame the Mafia.” A shiver ran down Alice's back. She'd come to accept that just about everyone in this world was their own shade of trigger-happy psychopath, but the idea of someone murdering and breaking clocks without motive was infinitely more chilling.

With all four clocks in his bag, Ace pulled the strings tight and slung it over his shoulder. “Do me a favour, Alice. Don't tell Blood about this until I've done a little investigating, okay? It would complicate things if word got out.”

Alice paused. She'd vowed not to keep secrets from Blood as long as they were together, but Ace had a point: the fewer people who knew about this, the better. Besides, did it really matter if she told him now or in a few days?

“I promise,” she said.

The smile returned to Ace's face. He wrapped his free hand around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.“I knew I could count on you.”

Alice returned the gesture, squeezing Ace tightly in her arms. His coat smelt of pine needles and earth, with a hint of something artificial – the oil Julius used to lubricate his clocks. He must have visited the Clock Tower recently.

But as she looked over his shoulder and found the pool of blood on the forest floor, her heart fell. It was a grim reminder of why they were out there: a murderer was walking among them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm writing this as a direct sequel to Midnight Invitation, but it makes sense as its own story as well. I've really fallen in love with Alice and Blood as a pairing, and wanted to explore how they'd fare as a more established couple.  
> At the moment, I'm keeping the rating as M for violence and sex, but might up it to an E depending on how much smut I end up throwing in (because you know, these two are adorable <3).  
> Leave a comment if you enjoyed!


	2. Tea

“It's blue!” shouted Dee.

“No, it's green!” Dum snapped back.

“Blue.”

“ _Green._ ”

As the Twins snatched the piece of paper back and forth, Elliot placed his head in his hands and stared at Alice from across the table. “It grates on the soul.”

“That's very poetic of you,” said Alice with a laugh, raising her tea to her lips.

“They say the best poetry is born from pain.” Blood sat on the seat beside her, dressed in his usual white tailcoat and ostentatious top hat. Behind him, the sky burned orange as the sun set.

“Explains why so many poets end up killing themselves,” Alice whispered, just loud enough for Blood to hear. He smirked at her.

The Twins had been arguing about the drawing for a solid five minutes now. The piece of paper, which Alice assumed to show some kind of optical illusion taken from a book, was just another pointless item in the long list of things they bickered about every day.

Elliot's ear twitched, and he gritted his teeth. “Right, that's it.” His deep voice cut across the Twins', making them jump. He snatched the paper from their hands and tore it up. “Argument settled. Now it's nothing.”

The two boys watched as the pieces fluttered to the grass. Then Dum blew a raspberry. “Stupid hare. Just 'cause you're colour blind.”

“I guarantee my eyes are better than both of yours combined,” mumbled Elliot indignantly.

Alice couldn't help but giggle again. It was always the same when they were all together: Elliot scolded the Twins, and they came back with insults. While they'd never come to blows, she'd heard Elliot mutter under his breath a week ago that he was going to 'shoot those damn kids right in their idiot faces'. She prayed he wouldn't follow through on his threat.

Blood sighed and flipped over one of the papers spread out before him on the table. In his right hand he held a pen, his own cup of tea suspended lazily in his left, allowing him to take a sip every few seconds.

“What are you looking at?” asked Alice, leaning over.

“Nosy,” said Blood, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth, but he pushed a paper towards her.

Alice scanned the page and frowned. “A roofing contract?”

“Of course. The mansion doesn't repair itself.”

How strange, Alice thought, that in a world where people had clocks for hearts and were bound to roles by magical roles, building contracts were still a necessity.

Blood underlined a section, then signed his name at the bottom. Alice had always found something alluring about his handwriting, the graceful loops and curls that turned every word into an effortless piece of art.

He finished his tea and placed the cup back down. His gloved hand slipped under the table and found Alice's knee, moving slowly upwards until he was pushing back her skirts and squeezing her bare thigh, sending her heart into flutters.

“I'm going back inside.” Elliot rose sharply to his feet, making Alice and Blood jump at the same time. His hand fell away from her leg. “And you two should be outside the gates,” he added, turning to the Twins.

“We're still on our break,” said Dee, taking an exaggerated bite of his sandwich.

“Yeah, you can't force us,” Dum chimed in.

“But I can.” Blood spoke softly, but his voice carried an authority that stopped both Twins in their protests. Looking up from his papers, he said, “I believe I pay you to guard my property, not lounge in my garden.”

Alice recognised the hint of danger in his tone – he'd used it with her enough times. Luckily, neither of the Twins argued back. Dum grabbed a couple of cakes from the table and shoved them into his pockets, while his brother wolfed down the rest of his sandwich.

“Come up to our room later and we'll show you our new knives,” said Dum, grinning at Alice.

“Yeah, they're connected by a chain so you can spin them around really fast!”

Alice told them she would, but that didn't stop the concern she felt brewing. There was something unsettling about a world where a pair of children no older than fourteen could get their hands on so many weapons. Last time she'd visited their room, it had resembled an armoury.

With the Twins and Elliot gone, silence returned to the garden. Alice refilled Blood's teacup and then her own, watching the steam curl up into the crisp evening air.

So far, she'd made good on her promise not to tell Blood about the clocks. She hadn't even told him she'd met up with Ace this morning – not that it made a difference. The Hatter had his jealous streak like everyone else, but despite the long-running feud between the Mafia and the Crown, he'd never spoken badly of Ace. A part of her still felt bad for keeping secrets from him, though, even if it was just for a few days.

She thought back to Ace's parting words in the forest: _We should meet up again soon._

Alice had agreed. It had been too long since she'd hung out with him properly.

“I was thinking of heading to the Clock Tower later,” she said.

Blood jotted something else down on the document. “I don't know why you even bother visiting that moody Watchmaker. It can't be much fun.” His tone suggested he was only slightly interested.

Irritation prickled under Alice's skin. She always hated it when the Hatter talked about Julius like that. “He's my friend.”

Blood said nothing, though Alice noticed that his fingers tightened around the pen, as if he were holding something in.

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

“Go on.”

“How do you become a role-holder?”

Blood paused for a moment. Then he shuffled his papers into a pile and twisted to face her, leaning his arm on the table. “You're asking deep questions for an Outsider.”

“I'm just curious,” said Alice. “There are so many people in this world without roles. What makes you so different from them?”

“Aside from the face I have eyes and don't blindly follow orders?” Blood lifted his free hand and wrapped a lock of her pale brown hair around his fingers. “I'm not sure. I assume it's random.”

Alice stared into his face. It was often hard to tell whether Blood was telling the truth or not: he seemed like the kind of person who'd perfected lying to a point where even his eyes didn't give it away.

“So, if you were killed and your clock fixed, you could come back faceless?”

Blood shrugged. “Probably.”

“And that doesn't bother you?”

“Not at all. I've asked Elliot to destroy my clock if that happens.”

Alice pulled away from him sharply. “How can you say that?” she said, trying and failing to keep her voice calm.

“I thought you hated the cycle of resurrection in this world,” said Blood.

Alice nodded. “I do, but it's better than outright death.”

His lips twisted into a smirk. “It might as well be death. The world needs a Hatter, and someone else will fill that role. I'll be a different person completely. Who's to say I'll even have my memories? I'd rather fade away than have that happen.”

He reached out again. Alice's instincts told her to pull away, but she let him stroke her cheek with his finger. The image of the bloody clock in the forest stuck in her mind like a barbed thorn.

“You're acting like I'm going to die tomorrow,” he said softly. “Unless you plan on killing me in my sleep.”

“Never,” said Alice. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on his touch, pushing the worries from her head. After so much time, she was still getting used to this world and all its intricacies.

The next thing she knew, she'd crawled into Blood's lap, her head resting upon his shoulder. He cradled her in his arms, and for a few blissful seconds, she felt her thoughts of clocks and death melt away.

“I love you,” she whispered into his neck.

“A terrible mistake, if you ask me,” he smiled back, and kissed her.


	3. Bullet

“Julius!”

The Watchmaker had barely stood up from his desk before Alice threw her arms around him, knocking the air from his chest. He patted her back uncertainly.

“Careful, you'll knock the clock on the floor!” he exclaimed.

“Oops. Sorry.” Alice pulled back and picked up the white cloth bag she'd left on the floor. “I bought you some more coffee beans. You're lucky – the shop was just about to close when I got there. Can I make you a cup?”

“That would be nice.” Already, Julius was sat back down, his eyes on the clock in his hand.

Coming back to the Clock Tower always felt strange for Alice. After all, it hadn't been long ago that she'd lived here. She moved through the small kitchen, gathering the utensils she needed while wiping up any dirty patches with a dishcloth. One of the first things she'd done after moving in here had been to clean the kitchen from top to bottom. It had taken her a whole afternoon, but now she could find her way around it as easily as her family one back home.

With a mug of hot coffee in each hand, she turned to go back into the main room. A figure appeared in the doorway, making her scream.

Ace threw up his hands. “Sorry!”

“You should be. I almost spilt coffee down myself.” Luckily, she'd managed to keep her balance through the shock. She crossed the room and placed the first mug down on the table between the sofas. “Would you like one, Ace?”

“Can't stand the stuff, though I'd kill for some apple juice. That all right with you, Julius?”

The Watchmaker shrugged. Ace headed into the kitchen.

“Here you go.” Alice placed the second mug down in front of Julius. He always looked so pale – a lack of sunlight from never going outside, she suspected. She often worried about Julius, alone in this tower with his clocks, though he insisted that was how he liked it. After all, he'd survived just fine before she'd arrived, and would continue to do now that she was living in the mansion.

He took a sip of the coffee and raised an eyebrow. “That's actually quite good.”

Taken aback by the rare compliment, Alice asked her score.

“Ninety.”

She grinned. It wasn't a perfect hundred, but it was good enough for now.

“What are we talking about?” Ace asked, appearing from the kitchen with a glass bottle of cloudy yellow juice in his hand. He flopped down on the sofa next to Alice and crossed his legs.

Normally, Alice would have shuffled away from any man who sat so close to her uninvited – apart from Blood or Julius, of course. But she'd always trusted Ace. He'd never made a pass at her, unlike so many of the residents of this world, and despite his boyish good looks, Alice had never been drawn to him romantically. She considered him one of her best friends here.

“Nothing,” said Alice. “Just a joke we have.”

It could have been her imagination, but from where she was sitting, she thought she saw the corner of Julius' lips rise ever so slightly.

“I hope you don't mind, but I told Julius about the broken clocks,” said Ace. “Makes sense, with his job and all.”

“Of course I don't mind.” Alice picked her coffee up from the table and held it in her lap. With the three of them here, the conversation was bound to change to the murder scene they'd stumbled upon yesterday, but it still made her edgy to think about it.

“Did you manage to find out who the bullet belongs to?” she asked, taking her first sip of coffee.

 _Wow, this really_ is _good,_ she thought. She made a mental note to buy the same beans for next time.

Ace took a small drawstring pouch from his coat pocket and poured its contents, a handful of bullets, onto the table. “No, but we can cross a few people off our list.” He picked up the original bullet in his left hand and another in his right, and held them up so Alice could see the comparison. “This one is Peter's. He carries a pistol. It's completely different, as you can see.”

“How did you get one of Peter's bullets without him noticing?” Alice asked.

“You only have to breathe too loudly in his presence for him to open fire on you. Then it's just a case of picking one out of the wall.”

From across the room, Julius snorted.

“Moving on.” Ace picked up a second bullet to compare with the original. “Vivaldi's gun.”

“I didn't even know Vivaldi _had_ a gun,” said Alice. She struggled to picture the Queen with any kind of weapon.

“She's packing, just like everyone else. The King, too.” Ace held up each bullet in turn. “Luckily, they keep their guns in the armoury, so it wasn't hard getting hold of these.”

A thought hit Alice. “You're looking at role-holders, but have you thought the murderer might be one of the faceless people?”

“Way ahead of you.” Digging into his pocket again, Ace pulled out a shining silver handgun. Alice jumped back instinctively. “This is the only gun that's allowed to be sold in this country.”

He turned the weapon on Julius and cocked it with a _click_. Alice's heart jumped in horror. The Watchmaker only had time to jump to his feet before Ace pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

“As if I'd load it,” said Ace with a grin, placing the gun on the table with the rest of the bullets. “It isn't our murder weapon, either.”

Julius' face had somehow turned and even paler shade of white. His hands balled into fists as he sat back down. “Not funny,” he growled.

Ace's expression begged to differ.

“So, you're saying it's definitely a role holder who committed the murder,” said Alice, ignoring the Knight's twisted sense of humour. She'd been hoping otherwise. Knowing that someone close to her heart had the capacity for mass murder was every bit as disconcerting as the act itself.

“More than likely. I'm going to visit the Amusement Park next. See if Gowland or that cat have anything to do with this.” Ace scooped up the bullets and poured them back into the pouch. Then he stood, stretched out his back and walked towards the door.

“You're leaving?” Alice turned to look at him.

“Yes. It won't be daytime forever, and I want to at least head in the direction of the Amusement Park before night comes.”

 _Before you get lost, you mean,_ Alice corrected him.

Ace opened the door, but paused before going through, as if a thought had just come to him. “If you happen to pick up any of the Hatters' bullets, that would be great. We'd be able to cross them off the list.” He raised his bottle. “Thanks for the drink, Julius.”

Then he disappeared, closing the door behind him.

“ _Thanks for the drink,_ he says, two minutes after aiming a gun at my face,” snapped Julius with a disturbingly accurate imitation of Ace's voice.

Alice had to hold in a giggle. It wasn't often she was treated with Julius' dry humour. Her expression fell a little when she laid eyes on the gun Ace had left on the table.

“You should keep hold of that if there's a murderer,” she said, nodding at it. “You know, just in case.”

“I have my own weapon. You've just never seen it because unlike the morons who populate this world, I don't whip it out the moment someone looks at me funny. And no, I didn't destroy those clocks. Ace has already checked.”

For a few seconds, the room was silent except for the sound of tiny gears being wound.

“Julius,” said Alice slowly, “what happens to the person when a clock is completely destroyed?”

“You know the answer,” said the Watchmaker without looking up. “They disappear.”

“But where to?”

“Wherever it is we go to when we die. Probably the same place you'll go to when you do.” He looked up at her quickly, as if concerned he'd hurt her feelings, but Alice didn't mind.

“I've always believed in heaven,” she said.

Julius muttered something under his breath. “All I know is that it's taboo. By my role, I am obligated to imprison anyone who does such a thing.”

Elliot had told Alice once about how he'd smashed the clock of one of his friends. Julius had locked him up in the Clock Tower as punishment, only for Blood to break in and rescue him. It was the reason Elliot hated the Watchmaker, and why he outright avoided coming to the tower if he could help it.

Earlier today, Blood had stated he'd rather have his clock destroyed than come back as someone else. While the idea of death still scared her, she had to admit that the more she thought about it, the more she could see his point.

On the other hand, surely it was better to have a fragment of you remain in the world than be wiped from it for good.

She and Ace were tracking down a killer; perhaps the person in question considered themselves not a murderer, but a liberator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've upped the rating to E for insurance purposes :') I'm really enjoying writing this, as I feel more confident with the world and characters. And I finally thought up a *shite* name for this series.  
> New chapter coming soon. Thanks for reading! <3


	4. Lie

A figure waved at Alice from the top of the wall. “Hey, sis! How was your walk?”

“Good, thanks,” she called back, then looked around. “Where's your brother?”

“Right here!” Dee emerged from the forest with a bunch of sticks in his arms, the dawn light shining onto his striped blue uniform. He dumped the sticks onto a pile next to the gates.

Since moving in, Alice had become better at telling the twins apart. They were practically identical, with only the tiniest differences in their faces and their clothes to tell them apart by. It didn't help that they sometimes switched outfits to mess with her, a trick which Alice had fallen for half of the time.

“What are you doing?” she asked, gesturing at the sticks.

“We're building a fire so we can burn things.” Dum switched positions on the wall so that his legs were draped over the front. Alice tensed. It always worried her when one of them sat up there, what with the height and the spikes Dum was only narrowly avoiding.

“Yeah, it gets so boring out here,” said Dee.

“Is that safe?” Alice asked anxiously.

Dee grinned. “Don't worry. We're only gonna burn leaves and stuff.”

“Just stay safe,” said Alice, not convinced they would but realising there was little she could do about it. “And make sure Blood or Elliot don't see you.”

Dee made a face like a child being forced to eat vegetables. “The boss is in a bad mood anyway.”

“Yeah, he shouted at us earlier. We didn't even do anything!” Dum added.

That made Alice frown. Blood had a temper, but he rarely raised his voice. “Do you know what's got him like that?”

“Beats us.” Dee shrugged, then grabbed Alice by the sleeve. “Just be careful around him, okay?”

Alice nodded. “I will.”

Back in the mansion, Alice headed straight for the kitchen, cut a slice of leftover quiche from breakfast and brought it through to the dining room. She still found it funny that the huge room, with its beautiful windows overlooking the garden and long polished wood table, went virtually unused, since the Hatter chose to have most of his meals outside.

She was almost finished with her dinner when she heard something shuffle against the carpet behind her. She spun in her seat.

“Elliot.”

The March Hare smiled at her as he approached, but there was a weariness to the gesture. “I thought it was you who walked in, but couldn't be sure.” He craned his neck over her shoulder to see what she was eating.

“Do you want the rest?” she offered, holding the plate up, but Elliot shook his head. She shoved the last bite into her mouth and stood.

After a quick trip to the kitchen to drop her plate off, Alice returned to the dining room. Elliot was leaning against the table, picking a piece of dirt out from under his fingernail.

“Is Blood around?” she asked.

The man jerked his chin upwards. “He's in his room.”

There was definitely something off about Elliot, she thought. Was it something to do with Blood? She considered asking him, but he changed the subject by pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Did you hear? Heart Castle has chosen the date for its ball, and we've all got invitations.” He brandished his. “Blood's got your one upstairs.”

“I didn't even know they'd been planning one,” said Alice. Surely Ace would have mentioned something about it, being the castle's Knight.

“It happens every once in a while. As a rule, all role-holders must attend.”

 _Perhaps that explains Blood's bad mood,_ Alice thought. Peace treaty or not, it couldn't be pleasant for him to spend a night in enemy territory.

“But isn't it dangerous for the Mafia to go to the castle?”

“Usually, but it's forbidden to attack anyone during events like these.” Elliot shrugged. “I personally don't mind going. Makes a nice change.” His face lit up as he added, “And this time the theme is fancy dress. I've already got an idea for my outfit...”

His voice faded, his eyes focusing on something behind Alice's shoulder. She turned to see Blood standing in the doorway. The hard set of his mouth was enough to confirm what the Twins had told her.

“So, you've bothered to return,” he said.

“You knew I was going out,” Alice snapped back.

The Hatter's frown deepened. Clearly, he hadn't expected such a sharp response. His lips parted as if he were about to say something, but he decided against it and walked away.

Elliot gave her a withering look that said, _See what I mean?_

With a sigh, Alice started towards the door. “See you tomorrow, Elliot.” She hoped he could hear the apology in her voice.

The hare gave her a small, unenthusiastic wave.

“Blood, wait,” Alice called as she followed him through the corridors. He ignored her, marching at a pace she had to run to catch up with.

She reached him at the bottom of the staircase and grabbed his sleeve. He jerked his hand away, then took the stairs two at a time. Alice followed him, feeling like a scolded child despite having done nothing wrong.

When they reached the bedroom, Alice slammed the door shut. Enough was enough. “You can't keep ignoring me. What's this about?”

Blood slipped off his tailcoat and draped it over the back of the sofa along with his hat.

“Are you pissed because you have to go to the ball?”

“No,” mumbled Blood, removing his waistcoat so that he was just left in his trousers and white shirt. Alice thought he was going to strip entirely, but then he walked over. His eyes cut into her like a hot knife through butter.

He grabbed her by the chin and kissed her, taking her completely by surprise. Alice froze, not sure how to react.

 _I shouldn't be allowing this,_ she thought. But then Blood's tongue brushed hers, and she felt herself melting into the kiss, her lips moving with his, arms fastening around his neck.

His hands gripped her by the tops of the legs. Then he was lifting her up and pinning her to the door. Alice wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him to support her weight completely.

He broke the kiss and placed his lips to her ear. The feeling of his breath on her skin sent shivers down her spine.

“How's Ace doing?” he whispered.

The perfect moment shattered around Alice like broken glass. She pulled back her head to stare at Blood. “What?”

“Well, since you've spent the whole day with him.” The dark look returned to Blood's eyes. “Did you think I didn't notice him throwing stones at my window this morning? Then the pair of you disappearing into the forest later on?”

Alice loosened her grip on his neck, hoping that would prompt Blood to put her down, but it only made him push her harder against the door.

“You were with him again tonight, didn't you?” He stared into her eyes as if trying to determine the truth from her face alone.

“I went to see Julius,” Alice said simply.

“Was _he_ there?”

A pause. “Yes.”

The Hatter snorted before pulling away sharply. Alice only just managed to plant her legs on the ground in time, grabbing the door handle for support.

 _So,_ this _is what's been making him moody._ All at once, Alice was hit with a mixture of relief and anger. She wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

“He's my friend,” she insisted. “You don't honestly think there's something going on between us, do you?”

Blood loomed over her, his hair falling in dark curtains around his face, lips pulled into a tight line. “What was he doing here this morning?”

Alice squared her shoulders, trying to make herself look as big as possible – a hard task, considering Blood towered over her by almost a foot. “He was just worried about me because I haven't been to the castle for a while.”

He raised an eyebrow, and Alice realised just how bad of a liar she was.

She sighed. “All right. I wasn't going to tell you yet.” Despite her promise to Ace, there was no way she could hide it now. She stared at the floor. “Ace brought me to a spot in the forest this morning. There were four smashed-up clocks there belonging to Heart Castle servants.”

She looked up at the Hatter, expecting to see rage in his eyes at keeping this information from him, but he seemed more confused. “Where in the forest was this?”

“Not far from the mansion. There had obviously been a confrontation. We found a bullet.”

“Show it to me.”

Alice shook her head. “Ace has it. He's been comparing it to the bullets of each role-holder to see who might have fired.”

Blood's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on him. “Well, that explains why you were asking me about clocks this morning. And now that you've gone and told Ace that Elliot and I intend to destroy one another's clocks when we die, he thinks I'm the one who murdered those servants.”

“No,” said Alice, a little too forcefully. “I didn't tell him any of that. None of us suspect you.”

“None?”

Alice bit her lip. She'd meant to say 'neither'. “Julius knows, too.”

For a few moments, Blood said nothing. Then he turned and walked towards the window, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

With his back to her, he said slowly and resolutely, “I have no reason to break my peace treaty with Vivaldi, and I didn't kill those servants. Neither did Elliot nor the Twins.”

He turned and fixed her with a scathing look. “However, if I see that Knight on my property again, I will shoot him straight between the eyes without hesitation.”

There was an eerie calmness to his tone that made Alice suspect he wasn't bluffing. After all, she'd seen Blood kill before. Shooting a role-holder couldn't be that different from shooting one of the faceless.

“I'll pass on the message,” she said coldly.

She should have walked out then, should have given her and Blood some space to cool off. But as the anger drained from her, she felt an exhaustion overtake her emotions. It had been a long, long day, and she was tired of arguing.

Tentatively, she walked over to Blood and placed her head against his shoulder. “As if I'd want anyone but you.”

“After having spent the day with other men?” Blood said, a playfulness to his voice. His face fell as he saw her expression. “That was a joke, young lady.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “We're friends.”

Blood's hand found the small of her back and pulled her into him. “Prove it, then.”

“Prove what?”

“That I mean more to you than them.” Blood's grip on her back tightened, fingers curling into the material of her dress. She looked up at him, recognising at once the ravenous look in his eyes, the slight curl of his lips that could as easily have been a frown as a smirk.

Placing both hands on his chest, Alice steered Blood a few steps backwards and shoved him down onto the sofa. The look of surprise on his face was almost sufficient payback for his surprise kiss earlier.

She leaned over and latched onto his lips, pushing her tongue deep into his mouth. Heat pooled at the base of her stomach, filling her with fierce desire.

“Not convinced,” Blood whispered. “Who's to say you don't kiss other men like that?”

Alice gritted her teeth. Although she knew he was joking, his taunts always made her feel dirty, like she was some kind of whore.

_If he wants to treat me like a whore, maybe I'll act like one for once._

She knelt down on the floor in front of him and undid the buttons of his trousers. Blood smirked down at her. From down below, his expression held an exaggerated air of arrogance that just made Alice more determined to make him squirm.

Once his trousers were open, Alice reached into his pants and pulled his cock free. He was already hard. She rubbed it a couple of times, eliciting a sigh from Blood. Hopefully, he couldn't sense how nervous she was.

She'd only done this once before with him, and that had lasted a few seconds at the most. Her head had been racing with worries of whether she was doing it right, if she'd end up hurting him accidentally, how she must have looked from Blood's angle. Now she felt the same fears rising up again.

 _Just go with the moment,_ Blood had instructed her last time, when they'd been together naked on the bed. She held those words in her mind and lowered her head.

She started off with a couple of light kisses. Then, slowly, she parted her lips and pushed her mouth over his tip. She paused, getting used to the feeling of his cock, the way it pushed against her tongue and filled her mouth. Blood stared down at her expectantly. She turned her eyes downwards to avoid the embarrassment of his gaze.

With one hand at the base and the other on his thigh, Alice began to slide her mouth up and down, taking more and more of him into her until she felt him hit the back of her throat, making her gag. She pulled back a little and ran her tongue around the head.

Blood grunted softly. His hand cupped her cheek below the ear and guided her head back and forth, slowly but firmly. As her uncertainty melted away, she realised she was enjoying this more than she'd expected. She pushed him as deep as she could without gagging and sucked hard, building up a rhythm that Blood mirrored with small thrusts of his hips.

It was always like this with Blood: one minute they were arguing, the next they were wrapped around one another. The transition would have been jarring, had Alice not been used to it. But deep down, she liked it this way. Blood was a challenge in a world where almost everyone else gravitated towards her.

All of a sudden, Blood grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back sharply. Alice looked up at him, a little startled. “What's wrong?”

He pushed himself back on the sofa a little, then pulled Alice into his lap. His chest rose and fell with each breath as she pressed against him, the lack of space forcing them to cramp closer together than ever. Blood's fingers were already fumbling beneath her skirt.

He kissed Alice with a hunger that left her hot and yearning. She wondered if he could taste himself on her lips.

“I'm convinced,” he breathed. “Now it's my turn.”


	5. Dress

“Come, we must go in this one next. There are some dresses you're just going to love!”

Alice sighed as Vivaldi pulled her through the door. They'd spent the morning dipping in and out of the clothes shops in the small town that surrounded the Clock Tower. The Queen treated her like a doll, making her try on dresses of every colour, cut and material, not to mention shoes and jewellery. Alice must have sampled ten outfits in the last hour alone. Not that she was complaining. The clothes themselves were beautiful, but there were only so many silk gloves and frilly bows she could wear before they all started to look the same.

“The ball is fancy dress, isn't it?” Alice asked as Vivaldi leafed through a set of dresses on a rail. Like most of the shops they'd visited, this one was small and rustic, with a slightly musty but not unpleasant smell lingering in the air. A man who could only be the shopkeeper stood in the corner, a polite smile on his otherwise empty face.

“That's correct,” said the older woman. “Is there something you had in mind?” She pulled out a long blue dress with puffy sleeves and held it in front of her, but Alice shook her head.

“I wear a dress all the time. How about something with trousers?”

Vivaldi's face fell a little. “But you look so beautiful in them. No, we insist that you wear a dress.”

Alice opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself before the words came out. It wouldn't be wise to argue with the Queen. Not to mention, she was the one paying for their shopping trip.

“Leave the trousers and plain clothes to the men,” she said with a wink. “We can show them up in our finery.”

Smiling, Alice crossed the shop and began to flick through another rail of clothing. In many ways, shopping with Vivaldi was a surreal experience: here was the Queen of Wonderland, skipping around town like a teenager, dragging Alice towards every colourful shop window that caught her eye. It was a far cry from the cold, austere woman she'd first met all those weeks ago.

As Alice pulled back a dress, something caught her eye. She pulled it out and held it up. “Your Majesty, what do you think of this one?”

Vivaldi spun around. Her eyebrows knitted together in an expression between surprise and distaste.

“Perhaps you'd like to try it on first,” said the shopkeeper, gesturing towards the changing rooms at the back.

The dress fit Alice perfectly, except for a little bagginess around the waist.

“But we can take that in,” said the shopkeeper. “Or, if you'd prefer.”

Looking towards the Queen, Alice said, “What do you think?”

“It's certainly a bold look, but it suits you.” Vivaldi twirled her finger in the air, and Alice spun on the spot. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” said Alice truthfully.

“Then we'll take it,” Vivaldi beamed.

Out in the street, carrying her new dress in a brown paper bag, Alice smiled and looked around. The town was hardly bustling, but the people who were out seemed to be enjoying themselves, walking around in groups or sipping drinks at cafe tables. A few people stopped when they saw the Queen to bow or stare, despite her toned-down outfit and lack of guards.

“Thank you for this,” said Alice, raising the bag.

“You're welcome. As we've always said, there's no point in having money if you can't spend it.” She sighed softly. “Besides, it does us good to stretch our legs every once in a while.”

As they came to the end of the street, Vivaldi led them left into a smaller, quieter alley lined with sleepy bookshops. The Clock Tower rose up above them, a foreboding shape against the blue sky.

“Will you be coming to the ball with my brother tomorrow?” asked Vivaldi as they ambled side-by-side down the alley.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” She sometimes forgot that Blood and the Queen were brothers. They shared the same dark hair and high cheekbones, but their similarities ended there.

“We've told you already – you don't need to address me with 'Your Majesty' when we're talking. At least not when we're alone.”

“Sorry.” Despite Vivaldi's light tone, Alice sensed she was being scolded, much in the same way she felt with Blood sometimes.

_Maybe they've got more in common than I thought._

“Tell us,” Vivaldi continued, “has the Hatter mentioned the ball much?”

“A few times.” Alice wondered if the woman could sense she was lying. In truth, neither Blood nor Elliot had spoken about the ball since the night they'd received the invitations.

“It's a rule, you know. Every so often, we have to run a ball at the castle.”

“And all role-holders must attend.” Alice remembered Elliot telling her so. “Why is that?”

“We're not sure. Some things just have to happen.”

Once again, Alice found her thoughts drawn back to the smashed clocks in the forest. “And if you don't hold the ball, or one of the role-holders doesn't attend? What would happen if a rule was broken.”

Vivaldi was silent for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, her voice carried a more serious edge: “Perhaps we should—”

She was interrupted by the sight of a figure in a red coat appearing at the end of the alley. He waved at them. “Your Majesty! Alice!”

“Oh, that idiot Knight has managed to find us.” Vivaldi snorted, a sound that was utterly uncharacteristic for her.

“Why is he here?” Alice asked.

“He is to escort us back to the castle.”

For a moment, Alice thought Vivaldi meant they were both heading back to the castle, until she realised it was just her antiquated style of speech confusing her again.

Ace stopped before them and bowed to the Queen, then gestured to the bag in Alice's hand. “Is that for the ball?”

“Yes, but naturally we cannot show you until the night.” Now that they were in Ace's presence, the air of coldness had returned to Vivaldi's facade.

“No, of course not,” said Ace. “If I may, Your Majesty, I'd like to borrow Alice for a minute.”

“As you wish,” said the Queen, gesturing with her hand and turning to examine the nearest bookshop window.

Grabbing Alice by the wrist, Ace led her to the end of the alley and pulled her around the corner. The moment they were out of Vivaldi's sight, his expression fell.

“What's wrong?” asked Alice, concerned.

“Nothing. Sorry. Just a little tired.” Ace scratched the back of his neck. Now that she looked, Alice could see black bags beneath his eyes. “I managed to collect bullets from Gowland and Boris. Neither fit, so we can cross the Amusement Park off our list.”

Alice's heart sank with the realisation of what that meant. “No, it can't be them.” The Hatters were her family now. She wouldn't accept that one of them was the murderer they were looking for.

“Look,” said Ace with a sigh. “Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's more to this story than we think. But we won't know until we're certain. That's why I _need_ those bullets.”

Alice's head spun. She remembered Blood's promise from yesterday: _If I see that Knight on my property again, I will shoot him straight between the eyes without hesitation._ There was no doubt in her mind that he'd follow through with the threat should Ace venture past the mansion walls.

“I'm sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I told him.”

“You told Blood about the clocks?” Ace asked, frowning.

“There was nothing else I could do. He guessed that there was something wrong and I couldn't lie to him.”

She paused, waiting for Ace to get angry, but he only sighed in frustration. “Nothing to be done about it now. We still a bullet, though.”

“You can't come near the Hatter Mansion. He threatened to shoot you if you do,” said Alice quickly.

“No change there,” Ace mumbled. Then he placed his hands on Alice's shoulders and bent down to stare into her eyes. “Alice, there's something I need you to do, so listen carefully.”

Alice nodded, a horrible feeling growing in her stomach. She knew where this was going.

“The next time Blood is asleep, I need you to bring me his cane.”

“And when he finds it missing?” said Alice.

“I'll return it before that happens. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is put you in danger.”

Alice swallowed. _Danger._ This was the man she loved they were talking about. She felt sick at the thought of betraying him, but knew it had to be done. To prove his innocence, if nothing else.

Looking Ace in the eyes, Alice nodded. “Fine. I'll do it.”

*

Alice opened her eyes to moonlight streaming in through the window. It was time.

She'd been dipping in and out of sleep for a while now, waiting for the perfect moment to move. Blood slept on his side beside her, an arm draped over her shoulders. His deep, even breaths told her he was sound asleep.

Carefully, so as not to wake him, Alice rolled out from underneath him and crept over to the sofa where he always laid out his clothes. His cane sat on the cushions next to his hat. She picked it up. It was about two feet long, thin and lighter than she'd expected, with a top hat embellishment on top.

She glanced back at the bed to make sure Blood was still asleep before walking over to the window and unlatching it silently. Warm night air enveloped her. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Then she held the cane over the edge and dropped it onto the grass below.

She closed the window quickly and peered into the garden, her heartbeat filling her ears.

 _I'll send you a sign once I have the cane,_ Ace had said before escorting Vivaldi back to the castle.

At the far edge of the garden, near the base of the perimeter wall, appeared a tiny orange light, like a match being struck. It blinked for a second before it was snuffed out, leading Alice to wonder if it had even been there at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Vivaldi as a character, but it is so hard writing her speech without making it sound stupid.  
> Apologies for the slight delay in releasing this chapter! Drop a comment if you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


	6. Cane

Alice took a small bite of her pastry and glanced, for what must have been the hundredth time, at the path.

“Relax,” said Elliot from across the table. “You're starting to make _me_ feel nervous now.”

“It's just so strange. Why would he leave without telling me?” Alice's eyes fell to the plate in front of her. She'd been nibbling for about twenty minutes now and barely made a dent, so she pushed it away. She hadn't had the stomach for it, anyway.

“Maybe he didn't want to wake you.” Elliot shrugged. “You're worrying about nothing, Alice.”

“Yeah. You're probably right,” she mumbled.

With the Twins guarding the gates, Elliot was the only other person sat at the table with her. The light of the setting sun cast long shadows across the garden and made his hair shine a deep gold. Alice glanced at Blood's chair to her right. The table seemed so empty without him sitting there, working his way through a pot of tea or two.

“Well, that's me.” Downing the last of his tomato juice, Elliot stood up. “I've got a few things to do, and I want to check in on the Twins. Last time, I caught them messing around near the forest. Anyone could have walked in.”

“Oh. All right.” Alice had been hoping he'd stay a little longer. Talking to Elliot was one of the few things that took her mind off her worries.

The man stared at her, concern on his face. “If you're still feeling anxious, perhaps you should go and lie down. Who knows? Blood might even be back by the time you wake up.”

Alice knew there was no way she could rest now, but she nodded anyway. “Thanks. I'll do that.”

After crumbling up the rest of her pastry on the bird table and returning her glass to the kitchen, Alice headed upstairs. She felt like a marionette being dragged along by her strings, leaving her mind free to panic. Ace still hadn't returned with the cane. Then again, what had she been expecting? He couldn't exactly just waltz up to the mansion and hand it to her. Maybe she should never have given it to him in the first place.

But she _had_ to know what Blood's involvement with the clocks was, even if it meant going behind his back. The uncertainty was driving her insane.

What would she do if she discovered Blood had killed those servants, she wondered. She'd seen him kill before – more than once, in fact. But death had a different way of working in Wonderland. Putting a bullet in someone's head didn't erase them from existence like back home, and while Alice didn't approve of the senseless shootouts that seemed to spring up from nowhere in this world, she'd accepted that they were an unavoidable part of life.

In other words, shooting someone was often done in self-defence. Destroying their clock was pure callousness.

Could she stay with a man who was capable of that?

When Alice reached the bedroom, her heart fell a little. She'd been half-hoping to find Blood up here, back at last from a walk or trip on Mafia business, but the room was empty. She sank down onto the bed and stared at the wall.

There was one thing still bothering her. When she'd told Blood about the clocks, he'd been adamant that he, Elliot and the Twins weren't to blame. A part of Alice still believed that. Though perhaps it was just wishful thinking.

As she turned on the bed to lie down, something on the sofa caught her eye. She knew at once what it was, but even after several seconds of staring, still couldn't quite believe it.

She had to force herself to stand and walk over to the sofa. The cane was lay on top of the cushions in the exact same position she'd found it last night. Had Ace managed to break in and place it here in the hour or two she'd been outside?

Something white had been attached to the top of the cane, beneath the top hat ornament. A piece of paper. Alice pulled picked it up and unfolded it. Four words had been written in blocky handwriting:

_We need to talk._

Nausea rose within Alice like a wave. There was only one thing that could mean: the bullets in Blood's gun matched.

Alice crumpled up the note in her hand. She had to find Ace at once. But leaving this room meant confirming her fears; as long as she stayed here, she could pretend for just a while longer that Blood was innocent, that there had been a mistake, the bullets didn't actually match. That she man she'd fallen for and given herself to completely wasn't actually a soulless murderer who had broken Wonderland's worst taboo.

She needed something that would prove he hadn't done it. A diary. A letter. _Anything_. She'd search this room from top to bottom if it meant finding something that would serve as an alias. Her last glimmer of hope in a situation that was closing in on her like a suffocating fog.

As if such a thing existed. She just knew that if she stood still any longer, she'd start to go mad.

She started with the bed, lifting pillows and dipping her hands under the mattress. When that revealed nothing, she moved onto the desk. Blood was infuriatingly neat with his possessions, stacking his papers on one side and keeping his pen pots on the other. Alice leafed through the papers, but they were just old invoices and receipts. Nothing that would help her.

She tried each of the two desk drawers in turn. They were locked. Luckily, she knew where Blood kept the key.

She crossed to the bookcases that lined the left bedroom wall, stretched up and ran a hand along the volumes. She'd seen Blood put the key up here one time when he'd thought she was asleep. Her fingers closed around it, and she snatched it down, ran back to the desk and unlocked the drawers.

The top one was full of bits of paper, pencils, ink pots and other bits of useless clutter. It was what waited for her in the bottom that made her freeze.

_No, it can't be._

A small pouch, like the one Ace used to keep his bullets in. Alice picked it up with shaking fingers. She knew she had to look inside, but she couldn't force herself to. She knew what it was already. Her hands could already feel the weight of it, the shape of the face and all the shattered gears and springs, spilling from the case like offal from a rotting corpse.

She hardly flinched when the door flew open and Blood walked in. Blood, with his smart clothes and sharp eyes, so achingly beautiful yet utterly repulsive to her in that moment. He stared at the bag in her hands with a sad acceptance, as if he'd already decided what had to be done.

 _Why do you have a broken clock in your drawer?_ The words screamed in Alice's head, but she couldn't voice them. Her lips, like the rest of her body, were frozen.

Blood took a step forward, and Alice backed away, glad of the desk that stood in front of her like a barricade.

“Alice...” Blood moved towards her slowly, raising a hand. It appeared that he, too, was lost for words. “I can explain.”

Alice didn't want to hear it. She had to get out of here.

Blood's eyes flicked to the desk a moment before he raced towards her. The sudden movement jerked Alice to life. Overcome with a surge of adrenaline, she vaulted over the desk and sprinted around the other side of the sofa. The doorway stood before her, closer and closer until she was just a step away from freedom.

Arms closed around her chest, picking her up and dragging her back.

The clock bag fell to the floor. She tried to scream, but Blood's gloved hand clamped down over her mouth. He was muttering something – not that Alice could make out the words. She struggled, kicked and shouted, but it was no use. Blood was just too strong.

She met the bed face-first. The moment she was free of his grip, she rolled onto her side and scrambled toward the edge. Then Blood appeared above her, pinning her to the mattress.

“Stop it,” he growled, but Alice refused to listen. With her heart pounding in her throat, she screamed out for help. Surely someone – a servant, even Elliot – would be around to hear her?

Blood held his hand over her mouth to silence her again. The pain of his elbow digging into her upper arm made her eyes water.

“Whatever you think you know, you're wrong,” Blood mumbled, but the desperation in his voice betrayed his guilt.

“You're... a murderer,” was all Alice could manage between his fingers. She was shaking now, her body shutting down after her rush of energy, as if she had subconsciously resigned herself to her fate.

She stared at the Hatter with wide eyes. She'd been expecting rage to dominate his face, but he looked more panicked.

 _Perhaps the shock at having been caught red-handed,_ she thought bitterly.

“Not in the way you think,” he said.

Was he going to kill her now? Throttle her on the bed they'd shared for weeks to stop his secret from getting out?

An image of her own body, hidden in a well or buried somewhere out in the forest, came to her, and she leapt into struggles again.

“Alice, _stop_.” Blood was practically begging her at this point, using his whole body to hold her down. Alice arched her back and thrashed her shoulders from side to side. Her leg slipped out from underneath him. Without thinking, she drove her knee into his groin as hard as she could.

Blood groaned. His grip loosened enough that Alice could shove him back and roll off the bed. The moment she hit she ground, she picked herself up and lunged for the door. The clock bag lay on the floor where she'd dropped it. Alice scooped it up and ran until Blood's shouts had faded into nothingness behind her.

*

Heart Castle towered over Alice, its trio of magnificent spires jutting into the evening sky like something from a fairytale. A guard approached her as she crossed into the courtyard.

“Lady Outsider. Are you all right?” Despite the lack of expression on his face, his voice was laced with concern.

“Get me Ace... please...” she panted. She'd run here as fast as she could, and her lungs felt like they were about to collapse. Sweat stuck her hair to her forehead.

“Right away,” said the guard, running into the castle.

A few minutes later, Ace appeared in the double doorway. When he saw Alice, he ran towards her and swept her up in a hug that almost knocked her over.

“It's him,” she sobbed into his chest. “It was him all along.”

“I know, I know.” Ace spoke softly, like a father soothing a crying child. His hand stroked the top of her head and held her tightly to him. “Stay here tonight. Whatever you need, you can have. You're safe now.”

And that, for Alice, was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I think, at once point, we have all dreamed of kicking Blood Dupre in the bollocks.


	7. Preparations

“Knock knock.”

Alice turned to see Ace opening up her bedroom door, a tray in one hand. “Hope I wasn't interrupting anything.”

“Of course not.” Alice set down the notepad she'd been sketching in and leaned back as Ace placed the tray before her. It was stacked with three kinds of sandwiches, a slice of cake and two mugs of what looked like hot chocolate. “Is this all for me?”

“Sure is,” said Ace, flopping down on the edge of the bed nearby. “Except this.” He reached out and picked up one of the hot chocolate mugs.

It had been hours since Alice had last eaten, but the thought of food turned her stomach. She thanked Ace anyway and took the second mug, comforted by the warmth that spread through her hands.

Her guest room at the castle was small but cosy, with dark mahogany furniture and a four-poster bed with white drapes. Sat at the desk, she overlooked the gardens, which outshone the Hatter Mansion grounds in both size and magnificence. It would have been all too easy to get lost among the flower bushes and trees that bordered the twisting paths, but even with the sun shining bright in the sky, Alice had no desire to go outside.

“How are you feeling?” Ace asked.

“Not great.” There was no use lying to Ace, Alice thought. He'd see straight through her.

“Vivaldi was going to come and visit you, but I told her you needed space. Surprisingly, she listened.”

Normally, Alice would have been horrified at someone of turning down the Queen in her name, no matter how close they'd become over the weeks, but on this occasion, she was grateful. She'd already had to fight off Peter. The rabbit hadn't left her alone when she'd first arrived at the castle, constantly coming into her room to offer her food or drink or company. After weeks away, it had taken less than an hour for her to become sick of him again.

“How about the preparations for the ball?” she asked.

“Excellent. We're almost finished.” Ace beamed. “We'll be ready well before the next night cycle.” His face fell a little, and he said, a little hesitantly, “You don't have to come down if you don't want to. It's not a rule that Outsiders must attend.”

Alice stared down into her mug. She wanted more than anything to just stay in this spot and wait out the ball. But she'd been doing nothing but that since arriving at the castle, and what had that brought her except hours upon hours to mull over her situation?

Blood's betrayal still stung. It was as much the murders as the lies, the way he'd convinced her that he was innocent in all of this. She felt stupid for having believed that he'd ever possessed an ounce of goodness, and even stupider for having defended him.

Ace had showed her the bullet he'd taken from Blood's gun and the one he'd found in the forest. There was no denying it – they were the same.

Yet no matter how much she tried to distract herself, her mind kept on returning to Blood. He was like a open wound that refused to stop causing her pain. She'd gone to bed for a couple of hours, woken up and rolled over, expecting to find him sleeping beside her. Panic had gripped her for a few seconds until she'd realised where she was.

“Alice?”

She looked up to see Ace waving a hand in front of her face. “Sorry, I didn't hear you.”

“No matter,” he said. “I just mentioned that I was surprised you two stayed together so long.”

A lump caught in Alice's throat. “Blood was... kind in many ways. Thoughtful, too. He always made time for me, no matter how busy he was.”

Ace shrugged. “I'd be glad to be rid of him if I were you.” He took a sip of his drink, then made a noise as if he'd just remembered something. “A friend told me something once that's stuck with me. A lot of relationships are like glass roses: beautiful on the surface, but one wrong move and they'll smash into pieces. Try to repair them, pick up the shards, and you'll get cut.”

“Nice metaphor,” said Alice dryly. It felt so strange to refer to her relationship in past tense. Part of her still believed that if she ran back to the Hatter Mansion, Blood would be there waiting to sweep her up in his arms. But what was the point? It would only be a matter of time before he lied to her again, and she couldn't live like that. She had to remain strong and stick with her decision, even if it felt like she was dying from the inside out.

The feeling of Ace's hand on her knee broke her from her thoughts. She had to fight the instinct to slap him away.

“Alice, I'm going to have to ask you to do something cruel,” he said.

“What is it?”

After a pause, Ace said. “Blood has broken the rules of this world five times that we know of, maybe more. He needs to be arrested for his crimes. When he arrives at the ball, try to act normal. Talk to him, dance with him a little, if you can.”

“You're not going to arrest him at the ball, are you?”

“Afterwards. He has to attend, so we'll catch him as he's leaving to avoid making a scene. Until then, we have to try and prevent his alarm bells from ringing. It's likely he'll already be expecting some kind of intervention, now he's been caught red-handed. He might even bring his own faceless with him as backup.”

“But Vivaldi told me the ball was always a neutral zone,” said Alice, thinking back to their shopping trip.

Ace grunted. “He's already broken one rule. What makes you think he'll hesitate to break another?”

 _Good point,_ Alice thought with a sigh. Could she really force herself to act normal around Blood? Another thought hit her then. She hadn't told Blood explicitly that they were over. What if he tried to rekindle things with her, kiss her or worse? She worried she wouldn't have the strength to resist him.

“I'll try,” she said finally.

Smiling, Ace rubbed her knee. “I always said you were too good for him,” he repeated. His hand crept up to the top of her stocking, fingertips gripping the bare flesh of her thigh. This time, Alice pulled her leg away sharply.

“Ace...”

The man looked up at her as if breaking from a trance. “I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking.”

Alice stared at him for a few seconds, a strange feeling coming over her. _Does Ace... like me?_ She'd always considered their relationship platonic; heavens knew there were enough psychotic characters here fawning over her, trying to win her affection in one way or another.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was love, especially with Blood's betrayal as raw as it was.

“Don't mention it,” she mumbled. “Would you mind... I'd like to be alone before the ball.”

“No problem.” Standing up, Ace gestured to the tray on the desk. “Try to eat something. And get some sleep. These balls go on for ages, so you'll need it.” He walked to the door, but not before Alice caught his face reddening, like a child caught with their hand in the family biscuit jar. He was out of the room before she could say anything more.

Alone again, Alice looked down at the tray. She still hadn't touched her hot chocolate. She set it aside and tried to eat one of the sandwiches, but only managed half before she started to feel sick. Then she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

She dreamed of him, his smile, his touch. Blood, lying on a bed of glittering smashed glass. When he reached out to her, his fingers were red and dripping.

 _Come with me,_ he whispered. _I love you._

She woke up with a start, her face wet with tears and weight on her chest making her breathless. Through the window, she saw that the sky had turned black.

The time for the ball had arrived.


	8. Wine

The woman staring back at Alice in the mirror was a stranger. Long brown hair braided and piled on one side of her head, eyes rimmed with smoky shadow and lips painted red. The black dress she'd bought with Vivaldi clung to her figure before before falling loose at the hips. The single shoulder strap and low cut highlighted her chest, where she'd placed a single red pendant in the shape of a heart, loaned to her by the Queen.

“And to finish,” said one of the maids bustling around her, placing a black rose clip on the side of her head where her hair hung loose.

Alice raised a hand to her mouth. “I'm still not sure about the lipstick.” She rarely wore makeup, and the red looked so out of place on her.

“It's a ball!” said the second maid cheerily. “You're supposed to dress a little differently.”

Sighing, Alice looked in the mirror again. _I guess I can always wipe it off later._

The guests would be arriving now. Perhaps Blood was already down there, waiting for her. To say she was dreading seeing him would be an understatement. She'd had a lump in her throat the size of an apple since waking up that refused to budge no matter how much she tried to think of other things.

“Well, well,” said a low voice from behind her. She turned to see Ace leaning in the doorway, his own white suit a stark change from his usual red coat. “Vivaldi said your dress was different, but I never expecting anything this drastic.”

“I feel stupid,” said Alice before she could stop herself.

“You shouldn't. You look stunning.” Ace walked over and held out his hand to her. She placed hers in his, and he bent slightly to kiss her knuckles. An image of Blood doing the same gesture came to her.

“What's wrong?” Ace asked as she looked away.

“I'm just...” Alice bit her lip. “I'm not looking forward to this.”

“I understand.” Ace's voice was soft. “But I'll be there whenever you need me. If you want some time out, or for me to step in, just make a signal.”

“Thank you, Ace,” said Alice. She really did mean it. If it weren't for the Knight, she would have refused to attend outright.

She hadn't spoken to him since the incident in her bedroom where he'd touched her leg, but it seemed that he'd already forgotten it. Alice was glad. The last thing she wanted was awkwardness between them over a silly mistake she'd already put behind her.

“Is _he_ down there?” she mumbled.

Ace didn't have to ask to know who she was talking about. “Not when I last checked.” He gestured towards the door. “Shall we?”

Alice sighed. “Let's get it over with.”

The castle's main hall was a sight to behold. The white walls had been decorated with winding vines, and from the ceiling hung banners bearing the Heart Castle emblem and single, glittering chandelier that looked like it weighed as much as ten men. On a platform at the side of the room, a string quartet played a slow, gentle song. As they made their way down the stairs, Alice noticed that tables holding empty glasses and carafes had been set up under the gallery at the back of the room. Faceless servants in tuxedos circulated the room offering drinks and canapés to the handful of guests who'd arrived.

“Is that Julius?” Alice asked, squinting at a figure standing next to one of the tables.

“Looks like it,” said Ace.

The Watchmaker's eyes widened as the pair approached. In his hand he held a half-empty glass of red wine. “Alice, you look... very different.”

“So do you,” she said. He wore a simple navy suit and white shirt, his long, dark hair tied behind his back as always. It was strange to see him in something other than his black coat; stranger still was seeing him somewhere other than the Clock Tower. He glanced at the double doors on the other side of the hall, as if counting down the minutes until he could lock himself away again.

“I'm going to see Vivaldi quickly,” said Ace, pulling away. “Don't forget what I told you. Any trouble and I'll be there.”

Alice watched him walk towards the stairs. He passed a man with white hair who she recognised with a stab of horror as Peter. The rabbit spotted her and immediately perked up, waving and shouting out her name, but Ace grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. Peter slapped away Ace's hand and snapped something, but followed him up the stairs anyway.

Turning back to Julius, Alice asked, “How's the wine?”

“Surprisingly good,” said the Watchmaker, taking a sip. “Would you like to try some?”

Alice took the glass and had a sip, her face twisting at the sour taste. She coughed and handed it back. “I've never been big on red wine.”

“No? I think they have some white on one of the tables. Champagne, too, but I'm avoiding that. I had a bad experience last time.” Julius smiled in a way that made Alice suspect this wasn't his second, or even third glass.

Being around Julius always seemed to have a calming effect on her. She wondered whether Ace had told him about the clock she'd found in Blood's drawer, then realised that he likely had. She didn't feel much like talking about, though. Luckily, Julius wasn't the type to pelt her with endless questions.

The Watchmaker took another sip from his glass, then raised his eyes to stare at something over her shoulder. Alice turned to see what he was looking at.

Her stomach lurched.

Blood came to a stop in front of her, an amused look on his face. She looked up at him, frozen on the spot.

“Alice,” he said coolly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight me, but I adore the trope that Julius will get drunk the moment he touches alcohol. Shamelessly stolen from the manga. I think we all need Pisshead!Julius in our lives.  
> Once again, thanks to all the readers following along! Drop a comment if you're enjoying. :)


	9. Balcony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TIL the bit at the centre of a clock face that the hands are attached to is called the shaft. Perhaps it's time to rename the Clock Tower with that in mind.

“You knew I was coming, Blood,” snapped Alice.

“Hmm. Part of me thought you wouldn't turn up.” Unlike most of the other male guests, who'd opted for suits, Blood wore a burgundy dress shirt tucked into black trousers and long brown boots. He'd tied his hair into a ponytail – a look which suited him dashingly well, Alice had to admit, even if she was disgusted to see him here.

She paused at that thought. _Was_ she disgusted? Standing in front of Blood, she realised how easy it would be to just leap into his arms and pretend none of this had happened. But she couldn't, not just for her sake, but for the sake of the souls he'd destroyed and abandoned in the forest.

Her eyes travelled to his hands, and she realised that for what must have been the first time since she'd arrived in this world, he wasn't wearing gloves in public. The memory of those smooth hands travelling over every inch of her body, caressing her face as they kissed, came to her. Luckily, Blood looked up at Julius before noticing the reddening of her cheeks.

“So, you've finally left your hole, Watchmaker,” he said. “I should take a picture to commemorate the occasion.”

“Nobody's stopping you,” Julius retorted with a narrowing of his eyes.

Alice frowned. Had Blood always been this rude? Perhaps she only noticed it now that she wasn't viewing him with her usual adoration.

Smirking, Blood took one final look at the two of them, turned and walked away. Alice's eyes lingered on him for several seconds until she mumbled, just loud enough for Julius to hear, “Maybe I'll have a drink after all.”

After pouring herself a glass of white wine, Alice left Julius under the gallery to circulate the room. To her surprise, most of the guests seemed to be faceless. She wondered how they ended up here, mingling with the role-holders. Were they invited at random to fill out the numbers, or was there some kind of application process or lottery? It must have been a great honour to attend a royal ball, and sure enough, most of the faceless were beaming proudly as they walked around and socialised with one another.

“Alice!” someone called out from across the room. She turned to see a familiar trio waving at her.

“Well, don't you two look handsome,” she said to the Twins. Their little black tailcoats were identical, except for the embroidered hearts on their lapels – blue for Dee and red for Dum.

“Yeah, and what about me?” The third figure, Boris, stood two heads higher than the Twins. His yellow cat eyes shone as he grinned at Alice.

“She wasn't talking to you,” snapped Dee, sticking his tongue out at Boris.

“Yeah, butt out,” Dum added.

Boris placed a hand on each boy's head and rubbed them both forcefully enough to make them protest angrily.

“You haven't visited the Amusement Park in ages,” said Boris, drawing out the last word.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I've been... busy,” said Alice, a little embarrassed.

“Don't worry about it. We all have lives.” Boris released the Twins simultaneously, earning himself another barrage of insults. “Besides, seeing you here is good enough for now.”

A servant approached them and offered a tray of canapés – bite-sized pieces of fish on rye bread, by the looks of it. Dee and Dum snatched a handful each, and Boris took one, but Alice refused.

“Is Elliot here?” she asked the Twins when the servant had walked away.

Dum pointed up to the gallery and mumbled something around a mouthful of food. Elliot was indeed stood there, leaning against the wooden railing on his own and looking utterly bored.

Ace had mentioned that Blood might bring in his own men as backup, in case anyone tried to arrest him at the ball. Was that why Elliot was up there? Alice scanned the gallery. It was empty apart from the odd pair of chatting faceless. Were those Blood's men, watching the ball in secret, ready to jump in for their boss should trouble arise?

The string quartet played a long, high trill, bringing their song to a close. Then they placed down their instruments. A hush fell over the room, and all eyes went up to the centre of the gallery. Alice watched as Vivaldi walked forward, flanked on either side by Peter and the King. Her dress, a traditional crimson ball gown decorated with bows and ribbons, made her look like something from a fairytale.

 _Though I guess she already is,_ thought Alice. She took a sip of her drink, trying not to grimace at the taste.

“Greetings, one and all, and welcome to this, the Heart Castle Ball. The King, the Prime Minister and we would like to thank you for turning up to what we are sure will be a glorious night.” Vivaldi's voice rang out across the hall, reverberating off the walls – an effect of some kind of magic, Alice was sure. “So, let us start the event with a dance.” She clapped her hands twice, prompting the quartet to start up again with a lively waltz.

“Here we go,” said Boris with the enthusiasm of someone about to hand-feed a tiger.

A servant plucked Alice's drink from her hand as she passed. “You have to choose a partner, Lady Outsider!”

 _Partner?_ Alice exchanged glances with Boris. He was the obvious choice, though she had a sinking feeling about who she'd end up with.

Sure enough, he was behind her within seconds, but as she turned, Alice's face still betrayed her by showing shock.

“May I have this dance, young lady?” Blood held out his hand, an arrogant smile on his face.

Ace's words came back to her: _Talk to him, dance with him a little, if you can._ She closed her eyes. Ace was right. Despite Elliot watching up top, it appeared that Blood still thought everything was normal, and she intended to keep it that way until they sprung their trap.

“Fine,” she said, opening her eyes and slipping her hand into Blood's.

All around them, guests were partnering up and swaying to the music. Alice had never danced a waltz before, but Blood seemed more than capable of leading.

“Put your free hand on my shoulder,” he said.

Alice obeyed. _It's just a dance,_ she told herself, but her heart still leapt as his hand rested on her waist.

They began to move in time with the music, weaving in and out of other couples. More than once, Alice stepped on Blood's shoes and hated herself for it. She spotted Ace dragging a furious Julius out from under the gallery towards the dancefloor, a sight that would have made her laugh out loud in any other situation.

Blood chuckled softly and jerked her upright after yet another collision of their feet. “You're a natural,” he said sarcastically, pulling her waist closer to his.

“This doesn't mean anything,” Alice hissed.

“I know.” Blood's expression fell a little.

Their faces were so close now, just inches away from one another. Alice's heart beat hard in her chest. Blood must have known the effect being this close was having on her, and what was more, he appeared to be enjoying it.

There was a sudden shift all across the room as couples changed partners with their neighbours. Alice breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she could be free of this hell.

Blood lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, “Meet me on the east balcony after the dance.” Then he pulled away, leaving her on her own.

“Alice.” Ace pulled up beside her with a increasingly unstable-looking Julius. “Everything all right?”

“I'm fine,” she said quickly.

“Good.” Carefully, Ace guided Julius towards her. “Take your Watchmaker. He's useless at this.”

“I told you already. I can't dance,” Julius hissed, but took up position anyway.

As they began to sway, Alice realised that Julius was right: he really _couldn't_ dance, though she suspected that had as much to do with the copious amounts of red wine circulating his veins as his clumsy feet. Still, she let herself smile and relax, even coming dangerously close to laughing when Julius almost bumped into the Twins.

But her few seconds of happiness were shattered when she saw Blood staring at her over the shoulder of his faceless dancing partner.

“I-I'm sorry,” said Alice, pulling away.

“Are you all right?” There was concern in Julius's voice, but above all, he seemed relieved to have an excuse not to dance anymore.

She had to get out of here as soon as possible. The twirling dancers, the music, the heat... All of it was was becoming too much to bear. Apologising to Julius once again, Alice spun and ran towards the stairs leading up to the gallery.

A voice said her name, and she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a figure walking to meet her. She cursed under her breath and sped up to avoid them, but her foot caught the hem of her dress on the last step, sending her toppling forwards. A pair of arms caught her before she could fall.

“Thanks, Peter,” she muttered.

The white rabbit helped her upright, hands lingering on her shoulders for just a moment too long before he pulled away.

“You're not dancing?” asked Alice.

“Well, there was only one person I would have wanted to dance with,” said Peter with a small smile.

Alice looked the man up and down. _There's something... off about him._ Usually, she'd have to be fighting him to keep his distance, but right now he just looked sad.

She felt a surprising stab of pity. “Maybe later, okay?” she said.

“You mean it?” His white ears perked up.

“Yes,” she said, then instantly regretted it. “Peter, where can I go for some fresh air? My head's all over the place.”

Peter motioned to a set of doors next to her. “Just follow that corridor until the end and you'll come out on the east balcony. Would you like me to escort you, my love?”

Alice's breath hitched in her throat. _Meet me on the east balcony after the dance._

“No, I'll be fine. Thank you.” Alice crossed to the doors, leaving a bewildered Peter behind. She rushed down the corridor, past more doors and paintings on the walls, until she burst into the open.

The balcony jutted out about ten feet into the air and stretched along the side of the castle. Alice walked over to the edge. A white stone railing was the only thing preventing her from falling three floors to the ground below.

She leaned over the railing and breathed in the crisp night air. Heart Castle sat on a hill, giving her a view of the three other territories. The Clock Tower stood in the middle, rising above the forest like the shaft at the centre of a clock face. She tilted her head and thought, _Huh._ She'd never thought about it like that before.

Behind her, a door opened. Alice didn't have to turn to see who it was. The slow, deliberate footsteps were so familiar to her now.

He stood beside her and looked out across the landscape. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Then, finally, his voice broke the silence: “I like the new look.”

“The maids made me wear it,” Alice mumbled. She remembered she was still wearing the lipstick and wiped it off on the back of her hand. She felt stupid with it on anyway, like a doll dressed up and displayed in a shop window.

“Shame. I was hoping you'd wear that around me more often.” Blood pulled his hairband free and combed his locks out with his fingers. “You know, you never did let me explain why I kept that clock in my drawer."

 _So, he wants to jump straight to that,_ Alice thought bitterly. It seemed like so long ago since she'd run away from the mansion.

“Go on, then,” said Alice.

Blood took up the same position as her, leaning on the balcony railing, head propped up on his hands. “Do you remember that friend whose clock Elliot destroyed? That was him. He asked me to look after the remains because they brought back too many bad memories.”

Just like before, his calm tone of voice made her want to believe him, but Alice wasn't about to lower her defences. “And the clocks in the forest?”

“I don't know about those.” He turned his head to her, the hint of a smile on his lips. “Did it ever occur to you that someone has been trying to frame me?”

“And why would they do that?” snapped Alice.

“To make me look bad. Or to draw you away from me, perhaps.”

“You don't mean... Ace?” Anger flared inside her at the accusation.

“Maybe. But it's worked, hasn't it?” Blood reached out a hand towards her cheek. Alice pulled back sharply. “Just as I thought. I watched you and the Knight walk into the ballroom hand-in-hand, but you won't even let me touch you.”

“I can't believe you're stooping to this level of jealousy, Blood,” said Alice, straightening up. “Maybe I just don't want to date a murderer.”

“And yet you can produce no solid proof of it.” Blood's voice fell to a dangerous tone as he, too, straightened to his full height.

“The bullets.”

“Yes. Strange, how they conveniently matched up. Let's not pretend I didn't notice my cane missing the morning you ran away.”

It took Alice a moment to piece together what he was implying. She had to stop herself from laughing at the ridiculousness of it. “Are you suggesting that I stole your bullets to frame you?”

“Wouldn't surprise me,” said Blood with a shrug. “After all, we both know how you like to hold secrets from me.”

Alice felt another surge of anger. She wanted to slap him straight across his smarmy face, but of course, she wouldn't fall to that level no matter how angry she was.

“I loved you, Blood. I would have done anything for you.” She made sure to speak slowly and avoid his eyes. If she looked into his eyes, she knew she'd fall apart.

“ _Loved_ ,” said Blood with a grunt. “Were your feelings for me so thin you can turn them off just like that?”

Alice gritted her teeth. Whatever love she felt for Blood was wrapped up in a ball of hurt and rage so complex she was afraid to touch it. Again, she felt the overwhelming urge to throw herself against him and let the cage of his embrace shield her from this situation, but instead she started towards the doors.

“Wait,” Blood hissed, grabbing her bare arm. She looked at him and their eyes connected. He opened his mouth to say something. Then he closed it again. For the first time in his life, Blood Dupre was speechless.

His grip relaxed, allowing Alice to pull her arm free. The silence she left behind felt like more of a goodbye than words could ever say.

*

“Where did you disappear to?” Boris grinned, showing teeth. “You were gone ages.”

“I needed to lie down for a little bit,” said Alice. By her count, she'd been absent from the ballroom for just over half an hour.

“We noticed that you and the Hatter disappeared at the same time,” said Vivaldi. “Perhaps you were lying down together?”

Alice was more than a little shocked – Vivaldi was never this forward. Then she spotted the flute of champagne in her hand, and the looseness of her tongue made sense. It was strange to see the Queen and Boris stood together, socialising like any two normal people. The moment the ball was over, they'd be forced to treat one another as enemies again.

Blood stood on his own near the string quartet. He noticed Alice looking at him from across the room, and turned away deliberately. After leaving him on the balcony, she'd returned to her room to compose herself and wipe all the makeup, aside from a little eyeshadow, from her face. She wondered if it was obvious she'd been crying while doing so.

“You missed the best part so far,” said Boris. “Gowland tried to join the quartet, but the servants wouldn't let him. He got carted off until he calmed down, said we were 'missing out on the gift of his music'.”

Alice made an interested noise, but she was only half-listening as she scanned the room. A few couples were still dancing, but it seemed more casual than before. Peter was near the far stairs, shouting at a servant about something or other, while Elliot stood on the gallery above him, talking to a pair of women in almost identical ballgowns. Alice wondered whether he'd moved from his spot all night.

The sound of metal tapping against crystal broke Alice from her observation. She looked up at the gallery to see Ace standing in the spot where Vivaldi had given her address earlier, a fork and champagne flute in his hands. His sword hung at his hip. As the room fell silent, a horrible feeling rose in Alice's stomach.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Ace, “apologies for the interruption, but if I may have your attention for just a moment.” He raised a hand, bringing the music to a stop.

“What's that idiot doing?” Vivaldi muttered.

“Stop him,” Alice whispered. She suddenly felt faint.

Vivaldi gave her a look, then stepped forward. “What is the meaning of this, Ace?” she called up.

“I'm very sorry, Your Majesty, but I'm sure you'll forgive me for exposing a murderer.”

A wave of whispers spread through the guests. Ace smiled; clearly, his words had elicited the expected reaction. “Yes, we have a murderer in our midst, someone who took it upon themselves to break our world's biggest taboo.”

He reached behind the railing, picked up a brown sack and upturned it. The four clocks from the forest fell out and shattered against the ballroom floor, pieces of glass and metal flying across the stone, to the collective horror of the entire room.

 _He promised not to do this here. It was supposed to be discreet,_ Alice thought. She wanted to run up the stairs and stop Ace, but she was rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but stand and watch.

“And who, I hear you ask, is responsible for this carnage?” said Ace. “Why, it's none other than Blood Dupre, head of the Hatter Family.”

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to Blood. He drained his glass and walked slowly to the middle of the room, apparently unaffected by the gazes on him. “You put on quite a show, Knight of Hearts,” he called up.

Ace's smile widened. “I could say the same to you, Hatter. Do you admit you murdered four servants of Heart Castle in cold blood?”

“I do not,” said Blood with a gesture of his arms.

“See, it's funny you should say that, when I have evidence to prove the opposite right here.” Ace dug into his pocket and took out two tiny objects, which he raised high for the guests to see. “Here I hold a pair of bullets. One was taken from the scene of the crime. The other came from the Hatter's gun. As Her Majesty will now confirm, they are identical.”

Ace placed both bullets into one hand and threw them down to the ground, where they rolled and bounced towards the Queen, coming to a stop in front of her. Vivaldi took one look at them wide eyes.

“Seize him.” The words were barely a whisper on her lips. Then she threw out an arm towards Blood and shrieked, “Seize him!”

A couple of guests moved towards Blood uncertainly, but the Hatter held up a hand, stopping them in their tracks. “See, I thought you'd pull something like this, Ace.”

He made a gesture in the air. At once, half the faceless on the gallery whipped guns out from their suits, Elliot included. A few of them aimed down at the floor, but most of them turned to Ace.

The Knight looked unfazed – smug, even. “Always one step ahead, aren't you, Hatter? Except when you're not.”

No sooner had he finished speaking, every servant in the room dropped their trays and, too, produced handguns. Alice couldn't help but jump.

“What are you doing?” Vivaldi shouted. “The ball is supposed to be a neutral zone!”

“Better that than let this piece of dirt walk free,” said Ace.

Blood swept his eyes around the room. Several guns were trained on him. He took a step back, raised his cane and shrugged. “Well, they always say you haven't thrown a party right unless it ends in a bloodbath.”

Before anyone realised what was going on, the cane in Blood's hands transformed into a machine gun and sprayed bullets. Every guest nearby, including Alice, screamed and ducked to avoid the barrage of gunfire. The closest servant to Alice opened fire, but either his aim was off or Blood was moving too quickly, as the bullets ricocheted off the walls instead of meeting their target.

Up on the gallery, Ace whipped his sword from its scabbard, beheading one of Blood's men instantly. Another took aim at him, but Ace was faster. His blade entered the man's chest and erupted from his back, staying there for a second before the Knight wrenched it out again.

“Alice.” Boris threw himself over her, hugging her to his chest. His own gun appeared in his hand.

“But the Queen.” Alice caught sight of Vivaldi over Boris's shoulders. A pair of servants dashed over to her, took her by the hand and led her off to a set of doors at the side.

The ballroom was fast becoming a flurry of bullets. A couple of faceless had already fallen, though luckily Alice couldn't see anyone she recognised among the bodies littering the floor. The sound of gunfire was deafening, like someone taking a hammer to her head, and it was all she could do to cling to Boris while he shot.

A figure in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Blood sprinting towards the double doors. A faceless tried to tackle him from behind, but he spun just in time to unload a round of bullets into his chest.

Without thinking, Alice broke away from Boris and ran for the doors. Up on the gallery, someone screamed, “Stop! That's the Outsider.”

It was as if a switch had been flicked. Role-holders and faceless alike froze in their positions and looked around up at the gallery. Ace stood there, blood spattering his clothes, his face twisted with rage. “If anyone touches her, I'll kill them myself.”

Alice stood there, arms thrown wide to block off the doors. She was shaking, but it wasn't out of fear. A numbness gripped her. She felt disconnected from her body, as if she were watching herself through another's eyes, powerless to stop what she was about to do.

Blood stood before her, his gun raised. “Get out of the way, Alice,” he growled.

Alice shook her head. “I can't let you go, Blood.” She hadn't realised she'd been crying until her voice cracked. Suddenly her face felt wet with tears.

“I said, get out of the way.” Blood's voice turned into a roar. He could have pulled the trigger, could have shot her down like so many before her and made his escape, but he didn't. Like her, he was frozen to the spot.

A single gunshot pierced the air.

Alice felt like she'd been kicked in the shoulder. She looked down to see a small red hole in her skin at the top of her arm. Then came the pain, and it made her want to scream.

Through blurry eyes, she saw Blood throw down his weapon and run to her, just before a pair of servants grabbed him by the arms and hauled him back. She assumed the bullet had come from his gun, until she looked up and saw Elliot leaning over the gallery railing. His pistol was still smoking, his mouth slightly open, as if he were still processing what he'd just done.

The world was fading around Alice. As her legs crumpled beneath her, she became aware of something soft breaking her fall. Julius's face peering down at her was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out extra-long, but I had so much fun writing it. Even though Peter is my least favourite character (made even worse by the official English translation making him rhyme, ugh), I'm glad to give him a bit of the spotlight in this story. As usual, feel free to drop a kudo/comment!


	10. Cell

All her life, Alice had wondered what it would feel like to be shot. Now that she knew, she yearned for that state of ignorance with all her heart.

Her waking minutes passed in flashes. One moment, she was looking up into a face that seemed familiar but she couldn't name; the next she was gulping down water from a cup. When she closed her eyes, her dreams were a mess of colours and screams that she forgot the moment she woke up.

When she finally came to properly, Alice realised she was lying in her bed at Heart Castle. The covers had been pulled up to her chest and her arms lay on top in a position that reminded her vaguely of a body laid out for a funeral.

She raised her arm to scratch her head, only to be assaulted by pain. Looking down, she realised her left shoulder had been wrapped in bandages.

“How are you feeling?”

The voice made her jump. She looked around to see a familiar figure sitting in a chair by the door. There were black bags beneath Julius's eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days.

“All right, I think,” said Alice. “A little dizzy. And my arm hurts.”

“Your wound is still fresh. Here, I was told to give you this.” Julius picked up something from beside his chair and walked over to her. It was then Alice realised he was still in his clothes from the ball, though he'd removed his suit jacket so he was left in his white shirt. He must have insisted on staying with her this whole time. It was a touching gesture, and so unlike Julius, who was usually indifferent when it came to anything but his work.

He held the object, a glass of tea flavoured with lemon and salt, up to Alice's lips, but she took it off him, insisting she could do it herself now. The combination of flavours was unpleasant, but it soothed her dry mouth and instantly made her more refreshed.

“How fresh?” she asked.

“A day,” said Julius, returning to the chair. “A maid came in to change your bandages not long ago.”

 _I've been unconscious a day._ Alice didn't know what she'd been expecting to hear, but the words still came as a shock. She traced over the events of the ball in her mind, from her argument with Blood on the balcony to the fight and Blood's capture.

“What happened after Elliot shot me?” she mumbled.

Looking out of the window ahead of him, Julius said, “The chaos had come to an end by then. Blood was taken away and every guest who wasn't a Heart Castle resident was pushed out. Peter tried to go after the March Hare, but he was the first to escape.”

Alice remembered the look of open-mouthed shock on Elliot's face when he saw what he'd done. Had he pulled the trigger by accident or on purpose? She wanted badly to believe the former. Elliot had made it clear that he'd give his life to save Blood, but the thought that one of her closest friends in this world would shoot her was still too much to bear.

“Peter's tried to get in here several times. I told him to wait until you were awake.” Julius grimaced. “I've never known anyone so persistent.”

“Give me a few more minutes to get my head together.”

“Of course,” said Julius with a nod.

Alice took another sip of the water. She was starting to get used to the taste now. “Was anyone else hurt?”

“Apart from the faceless, no. I think Gowland got nicked in the leg, but he was walking fine on it afterwards.”

“What about Ace?”

“Escaped without a scratch, as far as I know. He came up to see you in the beginning, but I sent him away.” The ice in the Watchmaker's voice told Alice everything she needed to know about how the conversation had gone.

“Good. I don't want to see him.” Ace had gone back on his promise to her. Blood's capture was supposed to have been secret. By involving the whole country, Ace had humiliated her and caused the deaths of tens of faceless. She suspected he'd had it planned that way all along.

A knock sounded on the other side of the door. “Watchmaker, I hear you talking in there.”

Alice and Julius exchanged glances. Then she called out, “It's okay, Peter. I just woke up.”

The door opened and in burst the rabbit. The moment he saw Alice sitting up, he pressed a hand to her forehead, like a parent checking a child's temperature. “Are you all right, my darling? How do you feel?”

“I'm fine,” she said, pushing his hand away. “You don't have to fuss. Julius has already taken care of me.”

Peter's expression hardened, and he turned to hiss at Julius, “Get out of here so I can talk to Alice alone.”

“Don't talk to him like that,” Alice snapped. “Julius can stay here if he wants—”

“It's fine.” Julius stood up and opened the door. “I'll be be nearby if you need me.”

Alice understood his meaning: _Let me know if Peter becomes too overwhelming._ She smiled at him gratefully.

Once Julius was out of the room, Peter perched on the bed next to Alice's feet.

“Sorry I didn't get to dance with you in the end,” said Alice, remembering what she'd said to him just before heading to the balcony. “I don't think either of us knew Ace was going to pull that rubbish.”

Peter looked down at the floor. “Actually, my dear, that's what I came to talk to you about.”

Alice paused to let his words sink in. “Are you saying you knew what was going to happen?”

“Not exactly,” said Peter. “If I did, I would have stolen you away from that ball before that monster Hatter had a chance to draw his weapon.”

He placed his hand on top of Alice's, but she snatched it away. Her chest suddenly felt heavy. “Peter, whatever you want to tell me, just say it.”

The rabbit took a breath, then fixed his red eyes on her. “He told me not to tell you, but I can't keep it secret anymore. Not when you've been hurt like this.”

“Ace asked you to keep a secret?” Alice was shocked. Peter was the last person to take orders from anyone.

Nodding, Peter said, “I saw him leading the servants away into the forest. When I asked him what he was doing, he was forced to tell me his plan. A few swings of his sword, and it would be over. Then all he had to do was break the clocks and plant the bullet.” He leaned towards Alice in a position that seemed almost grovelling. “He told me it was the only way to lure you away from Blood and make you realise what a horrible person he was. I thought you'd come and live at the palace. You could come and live with me.”

“So, you let him frame Blood because you thought it would give you a chance with me.” Alice turned away from Peter. She felt sick.

“Please understand I didn't mean to hurt you.”

A sudden wave of anger hit Alice. She pushed herself up onto her knees, ignoring the stab of pain in her shoulder, grabbed Peter by the collar and pulled him close. “Oh, I understand, all right,” she growled. “Did you really think I wouldn't eventually find out what you'd done?”

“Alice, I swear from the bottom of my heart I never intended for you to get hurt—”

“Shut up.” Alice pulled him closer so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “You allowed Ace to tear me from the man I love and thought that wouldn't hurt me?” A thought came to her. “Where have you taken Blood?”

“He's in the holding cells beneath the castle,” Peter squeaked. He grabbed her hand, and Alice was forced to loosen her grip. Her shoulder burned with pain.

Ace had played her like a fiddle, and she followed his every word. How could she have been so stupid? She thought of his hand on her leg, his smiles and gestures she'd taken to be signs of friendship. And Blood. He'd been right all along. Hadn't he told her on the balcony that Ace was framing him? She should have listened to him from the beginning, should have believed him when he said he was innocent. Now he was locked away with the whole of Wonderland after his blood.

“I'm sorry,” said Alice. _She_ was the one who deserved anger, not Peter. She'd treated Blood like a villain. He probably hated her now. “How long will he be kept down there?”

“Until the Queen decides what to do with him.” Peter straightened his collar from where she'd grabbed it. “She's quite... shaken up right now, for lack of a better phrase.”

 _I can imagine._ After all, Blood was Vivaldi's little brother, a secret only the pair of them and Alice knew. To think that your own sibling had committed the most taboo of crimes and have to decide his fate without so much as a shoulder to cry on must have been heart-rending.

“I contributed to this mess, so I'm going to sort it out.” Alice slipped off the bed and was immediately overcome with a haze of dizziness that made her take a seat again.

“What do you mean?” Peter placed his hand on her shoulder to steady her, but Alice shook her head.

“I'm fine.” Once the dizziness had passed, she stood up for a second time. Her shoulder stung at the slightest movement, but it was a pain she was quickly growing used to.

Peter stared at her with a mixture of wonder and horror. “You can't mean to say you're going to break the Hatter free? You'd need a key, and there are armed guards down there. It's dangerous.”

“I figured you'd say that.” Alice took satisfaction in the way Peter's eyes widened even further as she said, “That's why you're coming with me.”

*

Alice had imagined the castle basement to be dark and damp, with dripping stone ceilings and burning lamps on the walls, like the dungeons from stories. Instead, the basement looked just like another corridor, except there was only one door at the end, guarded by a pair of guards with pikes that reached the ceiling. The weapons seemed completely impractical for the small space, but Alice had no doubt that the sharp points on the end would do their jobs regardless.

“Sorry, no-one is allowed access to the cells,” said one of the guards as she and Peter approached.

Alice was about to speak when Peter marched in front of her. He'd initially refused to come down here, but it had become obvious Alice was going to go no matter what, he'd agreed on accompanying her.

“Did that order come directly from your Queen?” Peter asked.

The moment of hesitation between the guards was enough to answer his question.

“So, the Knight's giving orders to the guards now, is he?” Peter spat. “Get out of my way. I should have you executed for your impudence.”

Alice rarely saw this side of Peter, so the venom in his voice shocked her a little. The guards backed against the walls, apologising profusely. Even without eyes, the fear in their faces was obvious.

Peter threw the door open, allowing Alice to run through. The room on the other side was perfectly square and lined with cells on three sides, each with its own barred metal door. Alice's heart was in her throat. She ran her eyes across the room before spotting a figure in the first cell on the left.

He sat in the corner with his back to her, dressed in the same burgundy shirt and black trousers he'd worn at the ball. He didn't move as she approached and placed a hand on the cell bars.

“Blood?” she whispered.

He turned to her at last, making her gasp. A bruise the size of an apple decorated the top of his cheek, just below his right eye.

“Oh, it's you.” He hardly seemed surprised, as if he'd been expecting her.

“Your face,” Alice said, not bothering to hide the horror in her voice.

“Apparently I made a few more enemies than I remember.” Blood stood up, but didn't walk any closer. “Have you come to gloat?”

“No, we're setting you free.”

“ _We_?” Blood raised his eyes to something above her shoulder, and the smallest of smiles flitted across his lips. “You got the rabbit involved. That _is_ a surprise.”

Peter walked past her and fit a key from a ring of many into the lock. With a turn and a _click_ , the door swung open.

“We need to move quickly. Me helping the Hatter escape is breaking the rules,” said Peter.

 _A bit ironic coming from someone who indirectly helped Ace in the first place,_ Alice thought, but she didn't say anything. Truly, she was grateful to Peter for his help.

“Are you all right to walk?” she asked Blood.

“Of course. It's a bruise, not a broken leg.” Alice noticed he avoided looking at her. She'd probably do the same in his position.

They left the the room through the same door they'd come in, Peter leading with Blood and Alice behind. The guards had disappeared from their positions, Alice noted, but she didn't let her mind dwell on it. The stairs at the end of the corridor took them out of the basement and onto the castle's main floor, where they wound their way through rooms and passageways until Peter stopped.

Pointing to a door on the other side of the room, he said, “That'll take you out to the back gardens. From there, just follow the side of the castle and you'll be free.”

“Thank you, Peter.” Alice pushed herself onto her tiptoes and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, which made his ears perk up. Then she grabbed Blood by the wrist, and together they ran to the door.

 _I'm sorry for ever doubting you,_ she wanted to shout at him, but she knew it would have to wait. Soon, they'd be out of this castle. She'd make it up with Blood, then explain to Vivaldi what had happened. Before long, this whole mess would just be old news.

She grabbed the door handle and threw it open to daylight. But as her eyes adjusted, her hope withered. Surrounding them was a semi-circle of swords, each aimed at their faces.

“Almost, but not quite,” laughed a familiar voice. Ace stepped between the guards, his own sword glinting in his hand. He pointed it at Blood. “Nice try, Hatter.”


	11. Terms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like ages since I last updated. Sorry!

Alice narrowed her eyes. “Ace.”

The Knight kept his sword levelled at Blood as he stepped towards them. “Alice. Now, that _is_ a surprise.”

“A surprise that I wouldn't eventually find out what you'd done?” Alice looked past Ace at the semi-circle of guards, each with their own sword drawn. Twelve in total, not including the Knight that was strutting back and forth between them like a tiger circling a pair of gazelles. There was no way she and Blood be able to slip past them. She considered turning back to the castle and retracing their steps, but a glance over her shoulder told her the guard from the basement was stood in front of the door, blocking any hopes of escaping that way.

“You really trusted that rabbit to lead us to safety?” Blood muttered at her side.

Alice shook her head. She knew this wasn't Peter's fault – he wouldn't dream of putting her in danger. Then again, with the amount of betrayal she'd faced recently, nothing would surprise her now.

“And what is it you think I've done?” said Ace. His usual carefree smile had been replaced with an arrogant smirk.

“You framed Blood by breaking the clocks yourself.” Alice tilted her chin up, trying to make herself look as tall as she could. It was hard to think in the face of so many weapons. “Then you planted one of Blood's bullets and led me on a fake investigation to make it look as though he'd done it.”

Ace laughed loudly. He opened his mouth to speak, when a woman's voice called out something. Every head turned to see the second basement guard running towards them, Vivaldi following. Her face twisted in horror as she stopped and took in the scene before her.

“Just in time, Your Majesty,” said Ace. “Alice was just telling us all the story of how I 'framed' the Hatter.” The sarcasm in his voice made Alice want to throttle him.

“Is this true?” The Queen's eyes flicked between her, Ace and Blood.

“Yes, it is. Peter told me everything.”

“Of course, the rabbit who's adored you from the moment you arrived in this world,” said Ace. “Didn't it occur to you he might just be manipulating you to his side?”

“What, like you've been doing all along?” Alice felt her voice rise as she stepped forward. Her shoulder was stinging again, but she tried to push it to the back of her mind, instead focusing her attention on Ace. “Look me in the eyes and tell me all this wasn't just to get close to me.”

For a split second, Ace's expression faltered, a flash of panic lighting up his eyes. It was as honest a confession as Alice could have hoped for. “I knew it.”

The Knight gritted his teeth and jabbed a finger at Blood. “What will it take for you to realise that _that man_ is a murderer? He doesn't deserve you!”

“Why do you get to decide who deserves me or not?” Alice shouted. “I am so fed up of being treated like a prize to be won. I love Blood and it was my decision to stay with him.”

The hint of a sneer returned to Ace's face. “You're talking about the man you've schemed against and disowned. A love so enduring it shatters as soon as the first cracks appear.”

Alice felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she shot a glance at Blood. His eyes were on the soldiers, but there was no missing the tightening of his jaw at Ace's words. While it would be easy to blame her betrayal on Ace alone, she couldn't deny the part she'd played in all this. She'd ignored Blood's insistence that he'd had nothing to do with the broken clocks, snubbed him and gone behind his back. She may not have been the ring leader, but she definitely wasn't innocent.

“I admit I had my doubts, and I'll take whatever consequences lay ahead” Alice said, turning back to the Knight. She took a deep breath, knowing she would regret the next words she said. “That's why I challenge you to a duel for Blood's freedom.”

A series of gasps rose from the guards. A few of them looked at one another, then at Ace, who seemed utterly taken aback.

“You're a Knight. Surely it's against your role to turn down a duel?” Alice said before he could reply.

“This is madness,” barked the Queen. “Guards, I order you to take the Hatter back to the dungeon at once.”

“No, Your Majesty.” Alice rushed forward, only to be stopped by a pair of crossed swords.

“You would defy your Queen and risk your life to save a murderer?” Vivaldi shook her head in what seemed to be genuine disbelief.

“Yes,” said Alice simply. Vivaldi was her friend and the closest she had to an older sister here, but also a dangerous woman who would only hesitate a little before giving the order to have her imprisoned or worse.

After what seemed like whole minutes of silence, Vivaldi pursed her lips. “State your terms.”

The relief Alice felt was only momentary as she realised what had to happen now. She turned and spoke loudly so that everyone would be able to hear her. “If I win, Blood goes free and you drop all charges against him. If I lose, you can do what you want with Blood and I won't try to stop you. And...” She looked directly at Ace. “I'll come and live in the castle with you.”

The Knight's eyes widened, and for a moment, Alice saw a slither of the old, kind Ace peek through. Then his expression hardened.

“I accept your terms.”

The guards surrounding them lowered their weapons and stepped back in eerie unison, creating a larger area for them to fight in. Alice turned to Blood, who hadn't moved from his spot, and threw her arms around him.

“I promise I'll make this better,” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

Blood placed a hand on her shoulder and moved it slowly down, making her jump as it brushed over her bullet wound. Pulling away, she noticed the hint of a smile on his lips.

“You're a very interesting young lady,” was all he mumbled before stepping back.

“Restrain him,” Ace ordered the guards around Blood. Each grabbed an arm and pulled him back.

As she took position on one side of the circle, Alice was handed a sword by one of the guards. It was about two feet long and a lot lighter than she'd anticipated, double-edged and polished to a shine that caught the sun like a mirror. She'd never fought with a blade before, but this seemed like one she'd be able to handle well enough.

“Do we fight to first blood?” Ace asked, getting into place in front of her.

“Until one of us submits,” Alice said.

“Or death.” Ace grinned and raised his sword with both hands. His weapon was at least a foot longer than hers and probably twice as heavy. She remembered how easily he'd beheaded one of Blood's men at the ball with a single swing, and a sick feeling rose in her chest.

“I must admit, Alice, out of all the things I imagined myself doing today, fighting you was last on my list.”

“You could just admit you're a murderer and skip all this,” Alice said.

The Knight's expression fell a little. “Still sticking to that, are you?”

Alice narrowed her eyes and lifted her sword. She didn't know where this spike of confidence had come from. Frankly, it scared her how calm she felt in the face of what was certainly her own death. But, she reminded herself, this wasn't just for herself: she was fighting to save Blood and whatever tatters remained of their relationship, and perhaps most importantly, the souls Ace had destroyed in the setup of his plan.

 _Besides, he's just a man,_ she thought. _How good can he really be?_

The moment Ace swung his sword, Alice felt that confidence die.

She raised her blade just in time to deflect his. The blow sent waves through her body, shaking her bones and racking her shoulder with pain. Alice was so shocked by his strength that she tripped over her heels and landed on her back.

“This isn't a little girl's game, Alice.” Ace stood over her, spinning his sword in a circle. “If you choose to go ahead with this, I _will_ kill you.”

Alice had no doubt that was true. She hadn't even been struck, and her body already felt like it was ready to give in. Clearly, she'd overestimated how much she'd be able to handle with her shoulder.

But she couldn't give up. Not now. Her sword lay nearby where she'd dropped it. As she leaned over to pick it up, she caught a glimpse of Blood, and he nodded at her.

It was all the encouragement she needed to pick herself back up.

She lifted her sword and stood in front of Ace, right leg positioned slightly behind her left. She remembered reading in a fantasy story once that fencing was as much about your footwork as your sword strokes, and this stance felt right. Ace was clearly stronger than she was, and probably faster as well. The only thing Alice had on her side was her size. Perhaps if she could slip under his arm somehow and catch him from behind, she'd have a better chance at striking him.

Of course, she didn't want to kill him. The best case scenario would be if she managed to injure him, forcing him to yield. She decided to aim for his sword arm as the place where she could inflict the most damage without hurting him in the long run.

She waited for Ace to lunge for her again, then jumped to the side, avoiding the blow. She swung for his shoulder, but Ace brought his sword up in time to knock hers away. Alice leaped back, making sure to put as much distance between them as she could.

Ace smirked. He was playing with her, she was sure, but she wouldn't that deter her. This time, it was Alice who struck first, lunging for his shoulder again. Ace parried her blow, spun and swung his blade before she could bring hers up in defence. Cold metal glinted in the sunlight.

Alice's cheek exploded in pain. Gasping, she pressed a hand to her face, horrified when it came back bloody. She looked up just as Ace grabbed her by the collar and shoved her back, causing her to stumble. She raised her sword, but it was too late. Ace placed his boot on her stomach and kicked her back, knocking her to the floor for a second time.

Alice grunted as the air left her lungs. Desperately, she struggled to get back up, but it was like an invisible hand was holding her down. From the agony that seared across her shoulder, she suspected her wound had reopened.

“You were a fool to go against me, Alice.” Ace's voice sounded faraway, as if he were standing on the other side of a glass wall. But then his shadow fell across her body, and she realised he was right above her. “Now you are going to tell everyone here that you yield.”

Every ounce of Alice's being told her to do as he said, to submit and end the pain. That was until she tilted her head back and saw Blood. All traces of amusement had disappeared from his face. His eyes were wide, horrified as he stared at her on the ground.

Alice looked back at Ace and whispered, “I won't.”

The Knight frowned in what looked like genuine confusion. “Oh, I think you will.”

His boot came down so hard on Alice's ankle it made her scream. She kicked at Ace with her free foot, but even against all her strength, he wouldn't budge.

“Just yield, Alice,” he said with deathly calm. “I don't want to kill you.”

The pressure on her foot grew, making her cry out again through gritted teeth. Any more and she feared her ankle would crack in two. Her cheek was wet, though whether it was from tears or blood she didn't know. Not that she cared. All she could think about was putting an end to the pain.

 _You know there's a way to make it stop,_ said a voice in her head.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alice saw Blood shouting and fighting against the guards holding him. He'd managed to get an arm free, and drove his fist into the chin of one of the guards before two more men leaped onto him.

“Yield!” Ace roared.

Alice shook her head. Just like when she'd been shot, everything was starting to fade. The pain was too much. She felt like she was going to throw up.

Then suddenly, the pressure on her ankle lifted. Through tear-drowned eyes, Alice looked up to see a second figure standing next to Ace. For a moment, she thought Blood had managed to break free from the guards, but it soon became apparent that this was someone else entirely. His face was lit up with a rage she'd never seen before, and the gun in his hand was pointed straight at Ace's temple.

“Get off her,” Julius growled.


	12. Window

“I told you to _get off her_.” Julius's voice was little more than a snarl.

Ace turned to the Watchmaker and smiled smugly. “You wouldn't shoot me—”

He was cut off as Julius aimed his gun downwards and fired once into the earth, making Ace and several of the guards jump.

Ace's face turned pale, and he retreated a step. Without taking his eyes off the Knight, Julius reached out a hand to Alice, who took hold and allowed herself to be pulled up. She clung to his side like a sailor to a mast in a storm, afraid that if she let go, she'd fall straight down again.

“How far were you planning to go?” Julius asked, turning his gun back on Ace. “Would you really have killed her if given the chance?”

Ace opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Like Alice, he was staring at the gun in Julius's hand. She'd never seen the Watchmaker brandish a weapon, though from the way his fingers trembled, he wasn't very comfortable with it. She had no doubts that Ace could have finished him off with a single swing of his sword on the spot.

“If you want to get to Alice, you'll have to come through me,” Julius growled.

Ace lifted his sword, and Alice felt Julius's shoulders tense. But instead of lunging, he drove the point into the ground and shook his head. “I yield,” he mumbled.

Slowly, Julius lowered his gun. He turned to Alice, eyes widening as he saw her cheek properly for the first time. “Are you all right?”

“I'll be fine,” Alice breathed. She was sure her face looked a mess, but it was her shoulder that hurt the most. She pulled away from Julius, wincing as she put pressure on her ankle.

 _At least I can stand on my own._ It was more than she'd been expecting of herself.

A sound like paper ripping met her ears. Ace sank to his knees beside his sword. When he raised his head, Alice was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

“I'm sorry, Alice,” he sobbed. “I've put you through so much pain.”

Alice stared at the Knight, unsure of how to react. The switch from murderous rage to crying was so sudden, Alice suspected a trick; and yet when their eyes met, she sensed a remorse so strong it almost made her pity him. Almost.

“Why?” was all she could say.

Ace shrugged. “The same reason anyone does anything stupid – I fell in love.”

The guards parted to allow Vivaldi to walk into the circle. Her face was the picture of coolness, all except for her eyes, which darted around like those of a scared mouse. “So, is it true? Do you admit to framing the Hatter?” she asked Ace.

For a few seconds, Ace was silent. Then he wiped his cheek, smiled and, looking directly at Alice, said, “You got me.”

Vivaldi didn't even have to order the guards forward, as a pair of them immediately appeared either side of Ace, pulling him to his feet with little resistance. The Queen turned to Alice, but when she spoke, it was to the person behind her. “We owe you an apology, Hatter.”

“Several, by my reckoning, though I'll take what I can get.” Blood sauntered past Alice and turned, hands raised flamboyantly by his sides. “I must admit, it is a relief to be free of all your accusing gazes, for however long it lasts.” He paused in front of Ace, lips twisting into a grimace.

His knee met Ace's chin so hard it knocked his whole head back. Vivaldi shouted something, while Alice felt herself jump. A stab of pain travelled up her leg as she stumbled on her ankle.

Ace groaned. Blood ran from one of his nostrils down his face, dripping off his chin to the grass.

“Tell me what you plan to do with this gutter snake,” Blood said to Vivaldi.

“This falls beyond our jurisdiction,” said the Queen through gritted teeth. “As Ace's crime involves the destruction of clocks, it is up to the Watchmaker to decide what to do with him.”

All eyes fell on Julius. He'd been so quiet, Alice had almost forgotten he was still standing there beside her. Silence descended on the circle, the only sound a low moan coming from Ace as his head rolled on his shoulders.

“I'll take him back to the tower,” Julius said finally. “He'll be imprisoned for as long as needs be.”

The same punishment, Alice remembered, that Elliot had been subjected to when he'd broken his friend's clock. She breathed out slowly in relief. A part of her had feared the Queen would choose to execute Ace. She certainly looked angry enough.

“Well, I'm glad this nasty episode is over,” said Blood with a broad grin. “And while I would love to hear the details of how you intend to spread word of my innocence throughout the land, Your Majesty, it's a long walk back to my mansion.”

He shouldered past one of the guards holding Ace and headed to the edge of the circle. Alice frowned. “Wait, Blood.” She took a step towards him, trying not to wince at the movement.

For the first time since he'd been set free, the Hatter looked back at her. He raised an eyebrow, as if only just realising she was there. “Why?”

Alice felt her heart lurch. There was venom in his eyes. “I'm coming back with you,” she mumbled.

“I don't think so,” said Blood. “As I recall, you gave up all rights to live with me when you took the Knight's side.”

A memory of her and Blood on the balcony, him reaching for her arm and her pulling it from his grip. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Alice's lips trembled. “I didn't mean—”

“In fact,” said Blood, his voice deathly calm, “from this moment forth, you are forbidden from trespassing on mansion grounds or anywhere in my territory, unless you wish to be shot on sight.”

Alice waited for him to announce that he was joking, for his usual subtle to return to his features. But instead he turned away. The simple gesture was enough to confirm what Alice had feared all along.

_No._

She stumbled towards Blood, but her knees gave out beneath her. Once again, it was Julius's arms that wrapped around her, stopping her from collapsing to the ground.

“Don't do this to me,” she screamed, not caring that everyone was staring at her. She was a mass of sprawling limbs and tears writhing in Julius's grip, trying but failing to break free. Nothing made sense. No matter what she'd done before, she'd fought for Blood, put her life on the line and gone through so much pain to make things better. Why couldn't he see that?

“Let him go, Alice,” Julius muttered in her ear.

The words cut through to her core. As she slumped to her knees, Julius finally loosened his hold. Her cries became huge, wet sobs that ripped through her, shaking her whole body so much it hurt.

When she looked up, Blood was gone.

*

The moon shone down on Hatter Mansion. A single figure stood at the edge of the forest, watching from the darkness. She'd been there since the beginning of the night period, at least an hour by her reckoning. It was the only time she dared to come.

Alice shifted against the tree she was leaning on and peered closer into the windows, eager to detect the slightest of movements. Earlier on, she'd watched a servant carry a basket of washing through the upper floor of the mansion. She hadn't recognised him at all. Was is that they'd never spoken, or were her memories of the people who lived here disappearing that fast?

Blood was probably sipping tea with Elliot in the garden right now. Or maybe he was at his desk, finishing up some paperwork. All those moments Alice had taken for granted. What she wouldn't give simply to sit by his side for a moment more. She was within reaching distance, yet had never felt so far.

A light flicked on upstairs, and Alice saw a figure with black hair stare appear behind the window. She couldn't see his face properly, but from the way he was stood, it looked like he was staring straight at her.

Her heart clenched. She knew she'd risked her life by trespassing. Perhaps she'd regret coming here later. But it was worth it just to catch a glimpse of him.

Pulling back from the tree, Alice turned and retreated into the forest, leaving the Hatter Mansion and life as she knew it behind her.

*

Blood yawned as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. Usually, night was the time when his mind was the most active, but tonight he just felt drained of energy. He'd sleep for a while and see how he fared when he woke. Whatever outstanding work he had could wait for another couple of time periods, at least.

He reached the top of the stairs and was just about to turn on the light, when he paused. There was a window just ahead of him. He walked up to it and looked out at the moonlit night. He followed the perimeter wall until he reached the front gate, where two small shapes appeared to be wrestling each other on the ground. Grimacing, he turned his eyes to the forest. Nothing was out of place, except for a shadow leaning against one of the trees.

He leaned forward to get a better view, his nose almost touching the glass. Though he couldn't see her properly, there was no doubt in his mind who the figure was. The corners of his lips turned up. Despite his warning, she'd still chosen to come here.

He had to admire her nerve, if nothing else.

Blood reached for the light and flicked it on, filling the room with light. The figure waited a few seconds before running back into the forest.

“Did you see something, Sir?”

Blood turned to see a faceless maid walking along the corridor. She glanced out of the window over his shoulder as she passed.

“No,” he mumbled, straightening up. “Nothing at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finished! I had so much fun writing this story and want to thank everyone who left comments, kudos or just read along. I feel I did Ace really dirty, but every story needs a villain. :')
> 
> I'm already planning a third part to this series. In the meantime, I've almost completed a Blood and Alice one-shot, which I'll be posting within the week. If you have a request, message or leave a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm writing this as a direct sequel to Midnight Invitation, but it makes sense as its own story as well. I've really fallen in love with Alice and Blood as a pairing, and wanted to explore how they'd fare as a more established couple.  
> At the moment, I'm keeping the rating as M for violence and sex, but might up it to an E depending on how much smut I end up throwing in (because you know, these two are adorable <3).  
> Leave a comment if you enjoyed!


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